


Jonah Angel Stark

by sumChick



Series: The Little Angel [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Adoption, Clueless!Tony, Fake Science, Fanart, Father!Tony - Freeform, Fatherhood, Human Rights, Jarvis Has Feelings, M/M, Mutant Rights, Mutants, Orphanage, Pre-Iron Man 1, Protective Jarvis (Iron Man movies), Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony isn't the bad guy - Freeform, Young!Tony, mutations, protective Dum-E, protective!tony
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-26
Updated: 2017-09-17
Packaged: 2018-09-02 10:57:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 13
Words: 41,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8664973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sumChick/pseuds/sumChick
Summary: ‘Raising a child takes more than money Tony.’
 "You think I don’t know that? Look Pepper, he needs me.” And wasn’t it a strangely wonderful feeling to be needed? To be the person relied on for once, instead of relying on others. He was going to change himself for the better, he was going to be better. For his son.





	1. It's a boy

**Author's Note:**

> This is an AU where Tony becomes a father early and everything changes because of it.
> 
> Also this is a fanfic and I don't own Avengers or Iron Man except on DVD.

Opening an orphanage didn’t really seem like it would be the kind of thing to be on a legendary play-boy’s schedule – but it was. Unluckily for ‘Mr Stark’ his wonderfully talented secretary/personal assistant/babysitter hadn’t allowed him to back out of it. He could kind of understand why. Homeless kids were important and no matter how many times he’d whined ‘But Pepper….” There hadn’t been a way for him to weasel his way out of the opening ceremony.

Due to one of Tony Stark’s many philanthropic efforts he was in fact part owner of this particular orphanage and the foundation it belonged to. Still, why he _had_ to be here for this he had no idea. All he had done was throw a bunch of money at some foundation one night in a drunken stupor while ranting (crying) about how no child should be sad on Christmas. That had been back in February, Jarvis had informed him before he left. So he’d accidentally half bought a foundation for homeless babies and now he was being herded around the newly appointed ‘Stark Orphanage’ for some good publicity. It was a horrible name. It made the place sound like it was a refuge for all the illegitimate love children the tabloids always claimed he had. He was only twenty-two. How many love children did they think he had time to make? …Yeah, safer if no one answered that.

Now he was being led from room to room while a reporter followed him around with a camera man recording all of these ‘heartfelt’ moments. Tony Stark smiled and congratulated strangers and kids for spending his money.

There was only so many times Tony could look at an empty kid’s bedroom and be impressed. They were nice rooms with singles for the older kids and doubles for the younger as well as group rooms for siblings. The whole facility was really nice, as far as orphanages went, and had a homey feel and a fully stocked infirmary that could easily rival the nearest GP. As well as a fully paid, highly qualified staff – paid by Tony of course.

So here he was, getting a tour of a monstrously large orphanage (and it really was sad that they needed a facility this large) trying to look interested with his press smile at full brightness, when they began the tour of the nursery/baby area.

There was only one baby in the orphanage right now. As soon as they entered the sleeping area Tony’s heart broke to the quiet sound of a baby crying softly. He could tell by the irregular hiccups and shuddering gasps of breath in between sobs that the baby had been crying for quite some time. It seemed a little odd to Tony, why was he paying all these people to take care of kids if they were just going to let a baby cry all alone?

The people guiding the tour snapped into action, but not tot tend to the baby, to try and turn Tony and the camera away from the room. Tony ignored them as they tried to usher him away and stepped further into the room. Drawn to the only cot with a baby, a baby that sounded so lost it was soul crushing. Memories of his own childhood were playing like a broken movie reel in the back of Tony’s mind. He knew what it was like to be ignored and he didn’t like that this baby did too. Ignoring the camera following him and pushing past the people trying to stop him, Tony stepped up to the cradle.

There, wrapped in a white blanket while struggling to free itself, lay the most beautiful baby Tony had ever seen. The biggest blue eyes rimmed with tears on a perfect cherub face. A light crown of blonde curls with cheeks red from crying and frustration. As Tony watched the little one held its breath, struggled for a moment, grunting cutely, before letting out its breath in a fresh round of crying. Little thing had a decent set of lungs, that was for sure.

Tony couldn’t watch this anymore. “Hey, hey,” Tony crooned as he reached down to help the crying infant.

“No!” The woman who’d been guiding the tour yelled abruptly and Tony paused at her tone, worried the babe might be injured or sick or something. It would explain the foul mood. “It’s fine! Mr. Stark, really. He’s just a fussy sleeper, we can go and talk to some of the more pleasant children if you like? You should just leave the baby where he is.” Go talk to the more pleasant children? Yeah Tony Stark was a genius. He wasn’t falling for that.

It took half a second for Tony to catalogue the woman’s expression and tone of voice, noticing the sweat on her brow and the quaver of her voice. She was hiding something. It took less time for Tony to decide to ignore the woman and reach for the baby anyway. He was clearly in distress (and Tony was surprised the baby was a boy, he was way too pretty), lying on his back, trying to free himself from the tightly wrapped cloth he was trapped in.

“Hey, it’s alright, shh,” Tony soothed as he lifted the baby and gently removed his blanket. When he started to unwrap the blanket from around the boy’s shoulders the baby began to scream. Gone was the quiet, frustrated sobbing. Now he was wailing and even Tony could tell he was in pain.

Alarmed, Tony proceeded with greater care. He could feel strange, lumpy, growths moving under the blankets on the baby’s back. Tony gently removed the wrap and slowly revealed two tiny, crumpled wings. As soon as they were free (the baby now half naked) they stretched out and if anything the baby screamed louder as he flapped futilely. His wings were in too poor a state to give them any kind of strength.

With dawning horror Tony began to realize the full implications of what he was seeing. This baby had wings, tiny, underdeveloped wings that were whiter than snow. He’d been wrapped so tightly that even when Tony had first picked him up he hadn’t noticed them. Most of the feather’s on the little one’s wings were crooked and/or broken, sticking out at odd angles. It looked painful and if the baby’s screams were anything to go by, it was. Considering how tightly they’d been wrapped he was lucky they weren’t broken.

Tony held the screaming infant close, resting the baby’s head in the crook of his neck while using one hand to smooth down and sooth his wings. It was odd to be petting the baby’s wings and feeling them move naturally under his hands, but he pushed the oddness of them aside and focused on the baby. After a few minutes the baby had managed to calm down to occasional hiccups.

Tony turned carefully to face the woman who had tried to stop him from seeing the baby. “What the hell is going on here?!” He demanded coldly, keeping his voice quiet enough not to startle the finally settled baby.

“I am so sorry Mr Stark. We were hoping no one would see him. I understand, given his… mutation, that we couldn’t let him be adopted but we thought we could just keep them covered. As long as we kept those deformities hidden he’d seem mostly human. We were going to explore surgical options to try and give him a more normal childhood.”

Tony didn’t even know where to start. He couldn’t even breath for a minute. _Surgical options?!_ He was beyond furious. He’d passed from hot explosive anger and straight down into the ice cold anger that lingers in the stomach. The cold calculating anger that was so much worse than hot anger because it allowed him to plan.

“First of all, you’re fired. So is anyone else in this facility who knew of this child and accepted your flawed reasoning.” Tony pulled out his phone.

The woman spluttered in disbelief, “You-You can’t do that! My father owns half of-?!”

While she’d been choking on indignity Tony had been busy on his phone. “No.” He turned his attention back to her. “I am now the sole owner of the ‘Child with Wings’ foundation.” Tony had to laugh a little internally at the irony of their name. At least he would have if he could see through his anger. “You’re trespassing. Get out or I will call my security to escort you out.” She left and Tony then turned to the camera man and reporter. “I’ll give you a deal. I’ll give you both the exclusive rights to interview me and my newly adopted son,” Money could buy anything, and it could push through paperwork awfully quickly, Pepper was going to kill him. But there was no way he could have left the child here, not now. “If you keep your mouths shut about what really happened here today. Make up something about how I fell in love with the baby and got all goo-goo eyes and took him home or something. I don’t care. I have to restaff this place quickly and I don’t have time to deal with you. So, deal?”

The reporter nodded her pretty brunette head vigorously, “Yes Mr Stark, of course. Let me reintroduce myself, my name is Rachel Williams of News Network. It’s going to be a pleasure working with you.” She smiled. She knew she was getting a good deal out of this, she gave Stark a nod, which he returned before turning his attention back to his phone. All the while gently bobbing the baby in his arms. Rachel would much rather this arrangement then having to deal with the legendary team of Stark lawyers.

At twenty-one Tony Stark had taken the reigns of his company, he was a young genius and his company had flourished under his rule, his intelligence leading to new innovations that had only ever been dreamed of before Tony Stark entered the scene. He’d also built himself quite the play-boy reputation. Now, at twenty-two, Rachel had the exclusive rights to document his miraculous turn around to be a responsible adult due to parenthood. Oh yes, Rachel was getting a good deal. She’d make sure Stark looked good as well of course.

In minutes Tony organized his adoption, firing all the old staff and hiring new staff. Each and every new member of staff were not only qualified but also had ties to human/mutant rights groups. Hopefully he’d get some more tolerant people working here, either way he’d be keeping an eye on this place. Or rather, Pepper would be keeping an eye on this place. Same thing.

The ’Oompa Loompa’ song from Charlie and The Chocolate factory began to play from his phone. Ah, there was Pepper now. He answered the phone a little bit away from his face, prepared for the screeching that followed.

_‘Why did I just get adoption papers saying you adopted a child?! How did this happen?! How can you find trouble in an orphanage of all places?!’_

This was going to be a long conversation. “Pepper, Pep, Pep, listen-”

_‘Don’t you ‘Pep Pep’ me! This is ridiculous! What do you even know about raising a child? What on earth possessed you to think this was a good idea?!’_

A quick glance around the room found that Tony was now alone with… his son. He took a deep breath. “They were hurting him Pep.” She silenced immediately. It made Tony smile. “I couldn’t leave him here.”

_‘Ok, but shouldn’t you have just hired new staff? Why did you adopt him?’_

She was listening, this was a good thing. “He’s a mutant.” Tony hated that word but he needed to make his point quickly. Mutant rights weren’t anywhere up to par, which Tony found ridiculous because human rights should apply but apparently there were a lot of people who didn’t see it that way. “And a baby. He won’t get adopted, and if he does the odds are less than 0.03 percent that he’d be cared for properly.” Unfortunately for his little charge, the odds really weren’t in his favour. “I will treat him right. I will give him a good home, one-hundred percent guaranteed. I can provide him with anything he could ever need.”

_‘Raising a child takes more than money Tony.’ ___

__“You think I don’t know that? Look Pepper, he needs me.” And wasn’t it a strangely wonderful feeling to be needed? To be the person relied on for once, instead of relying on others. He was going to change himself for the better, he was going to _be_ better. For his son._ _

__Pepper sighed and Tony knew that sigh. That was the ‘I’ve given up, not because it’s smart but because I just don’t have the energy to deal with you’ sigh. _‘So what’s his name?’_ She asked after a few moments._ _

__Tony blinked and looked down at the now sleeping, drooling mass in his arms. The baby’s face was smooshed into Tony’s chest and he was getting drool on his new Armani but it was probably the cutest thing he had ever seen. The little wings were tucked up close to his back and looked a lot better than before, although Tony frowned when he noticed the little red patches between the feathers. Some of the skin was rubbed red and raw, and there were feathers missing now. He hoped they’d grow back. He made a note to hire the best child doctors and mutant experts he could find to help him, but right now he had to think of a name._ _

__“Jonah.” Tony started, it was a good name. A bit biblical perhaps but considering the wings… “Jonah Angel Stark.”_ _

___‘We’ll need your signature to make this final but, congratulations Mr Stark. It’s a boy.’_ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, note the warnings. Some bad stuff happens in this story. Not for a long time but some bad stuff does happen.


	2. Welcome to the family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “They did this to him Rhodes, because he’s a mutant. They were going to discuss ‘surgical options’ to make him more normal.” Tony spat, still seething over what had happened. Jonah hadn’t been his at the time but he was now and he was regretting not putting that woman through hell before he let her go. He might follow up with her later.
> 
> “And that’s all it took for you to decide to become his father?” Rhodey asked, looking Tony in the eye. His expression was carefully blank. Not judgemental in any way.

It didn’t take long for Tony to wrap everything up at the orphanage. He welcomed the new staff and kicked out the old, promised Miss Williams her interview and set up a time, and made sure that he had Jarvis take note of the birthdays of every child in the orphanage. He wasn’t their father, the orphanage would continue to run, but he owned the orphanage and they were his now. He’d make sure that they’d all get at least one present on their birthdays – and they’d get an absolutely crazy Christmas party every year. He contracted workers at a security firm he trusted to set up a better surveillance system at the site and planned on hooking it up to Jarvis when it was done in a few days.

Tony also made arrangements for the name to be changed to ‘The Little Angel Orphanage’, it sounded much better and fit with the ‘Child with Wings’ foundation’s name.

Happy was waiting for him outside. Tony couldn’t wait to show off his little bundle.

“Sir please wait!” Tony stopped and turned around, he’d been about to leave, just seconds away from opening the front door. He had his left hand reaching out for the doorknob with his right holding securely onto Jonah. He was a little annoyed until he noticed the 7-10-year-old who’d stopped him (Tony wasn’t really good at telling kid’s ages). It was kind of hard to be annoyed by some scrawny orphan kid while carrying his own scrawny, formerly orphaned kid.

So Tony stopped and turned to face the boy completely, giving him his undivided attention. He was actually a little impressed that the boy had the guts to stop and talk to him, most of the other kids were stuttering wrecks around him. “Yes?”

The boy stood in front of him with short, shaggy black hair and brown eyes, he looked Asian but probably not full blooded. He was kind of cute but Tony was pretty positive that if he started adopting and army of orphans Pepper would literally kill him. One baby per Stark, no returns or refunds. “U-Um…” There was the stuttering. “A-are you taking him home? Have you adopted him?” The kid was referring to the baby still sleeping in Tony’s arms.

Jonah must have been exhausted to fall asleep so soundly, Tony’s heart bled a little when he wondered just how long he’d been crying for help and receiving none. “Yeah kid, I am and I have. His name’s Jonah now and he’s my son.” Tony felt a little thrill at the words. His son.

The boy frowned and looked suddenly serious. “Please sir, treat him right. I know he’s different but he’s just a baby and… and… No baby should be treated bad you know?” The kid shuffled his feet and his eyes were now glued to the floor. “I just… wanna make sure… Couldn’t be worse than the people here though I guess…” He trailed off, mumbling, confidence fading fast.

While the kid had been talking Tony had approached him and he reached out to place a hand on the kid’s shoulder. “What’s your name kid?”

“’M not a kid!” The kid grumbled. “’M real name’s dumb but my friends call me Jubilee.”

Dumbly, because Tony’s brain to mouth filter was faulty at the best of times, he blurted out, “But that’s a girl’s name!”

The kid just gave him a look.

“Because of course you’re a girl, you’re really… uh, pretty? Can I say that? Or is that creepy?”

“I think you should just take Jonah home.” She said, completely deadpan. He’d never felt so judged in his life.

“Right. I’ll get right on that, but first, I wanted to tell you that most of the old staff has been fired and replaced. I’m going to be keeping a better eye on this place from now on. No kid should be treated badly, mutant or not.” He gave the girl a calculating look. “How’d you like to be my eyes on the inside? Keep an eye on the other kids for me, and the staff. I’m gonna set up cameras but they won’t see everywhere, it’d be great to have some inside help.”

The kid crossed her arms and looked speculative for a moment. “Yeah rich boy? How much izzit worth to ya?”

Tony thought he was impressed before but this kid had guts! “Weekly allowance of fifty dollars.” Tony started, waiting to see Jubilee’s next move.

She snorted, “Seventy, and I want chocolate donuts served for desert at least twice a week.”

“Sixty, twenty now and forty put away in a trust for when you get adopted, donuts twice a week and I’ll have a pool installed in the east rec room.” He’d been toying with the idea the whole time he’d been taking the tour. He had a billion different ideas to make a pool completely kid safe, no orphans would be drowning on his watch!

“Make it the west rec room and we have a deal.” She shrugged when Tony raised an eyebrow. “What? It’s closer to my room.”

Tony rolled his eyes dramatically and held his hand out. Jubilee eyed him for a moment before they shook.

“I have a feeling this is going to be a beautiful partnership.” Jubilee smiled widely, showing off the fact that she had a missing tooth proudly.

Well… this day had turned out a lot differently than Tony had thought it would. Finally, he managed to get out of the building with his still, half wrapped bundle. It was a warm day so Tony had left Jonah half naked. He didn’t want to irritate the poor baby’s wings any further.

Happy, rather predictably, smiled and was completely overjoyed to have a new little Stark to look out for. Much to Tony’s relief Happy took the little wings in stride. The only comment made about them was how cute they were. And then they were in the car and headed home. Somehow, while Tony had been inside, Happy had organized a baby seat. Tony just knew Pepper had something to do with it.

Jonah fussed a little in the seat, the seat forced him to lie on his back, and his wings. By the time they reached Tony’s Malibu mansion Jonah was worked up and crying again. As soon as they stopped Tony pulled Jonah from his seat and tried to calm him but the little one was having none of it. Tony vowed to design a baby seat to accommodate Jonah better. His designs would be safer than what was currently on the market anyway.

Jonah was screaming for all his little lungs were worth. Tony freaked out and left Happy to bring in the packages that had been delivered. Tony may have used his phone to shop online for every baby thing he could think of as well as a whole lot of baby things he’d never think of. Then he sent a request to Jarvis to order any and every thing that the AI could think of too. There were a lot of packages and likely a lot more coming. Nothing was too much for his baby.

His screaming, distressed baby that Tony was slightly panicking over.

“Jarvis! Help!” Tony was too new at this to really have any idea at all about what he was doing, but he’d left Jarvis researching parenting while he was on his way home and his AI would likely be an expert on it now. Tony would pick it up as he went along but right now he needed help.

“Many articles suggest that babies find skin-on-skin contact is soothing. It is also used as a way to help the bonding process.” The AI’s voice sounded from all around them and Tony was stripping off his suit jacket, shirt and tie before his AI had even finished. Receiving an amused look from Happy, although Happy seemed to think better of saying anything. “Gentle rocking or bouncing motions are also considered calming as they mimic what an unborn child would likely feel in the womb.” So Tony pressed his little charge so they were chest to chest and began to bob and rock around. Jonah’s wailing seemed to calm slightly and soon he was just sobbing instead of screaming.

“There we go, is that better? All snuggly to Daddy’s chest?” As Tony spoke Jonah seemed to calm further so Tony kept speaking. “That’s it, you’re doing so well. I know this must be so scary but you’re being so brave. I’m not going to hurt you, and I’m not going to let anyone else hurt you either, I promise. Jarvis and I are going to take good care of you, aren’t we J?”

“Indeed Sir.”

“Jarvis create a new priority one user, Jonah Angel Stark. Until he’s old enough my decisions will still outrank his but his safety will always be above mine. Create a new protocol, designation: ‘Little Angel’, function: the protection and care of Jonah Angel Stark. He’s now our top priority Jarvis. Above all others. Even me.”

“New user created. New protocol created. Shall I place all of the newly acquired ‘parenting data’ into this new protocol?”

Tony thought about it for a moment. “Not yet. I’d like to review it first, compile everything and cross reference all that you’ve found with the most trusted sites and highlight conflicting information. Use your logic protocols to wipe out anything that could be potentially harmful to Jonah. Collect all known reputable information on mutants as well. Have you contacted the doctors I need?” Even listening to Tony talk to Jarvis seemed to be doing the trick and Jonah was now lightly dozing against Tony’s chest. Drooling all over him of course, it was kind of gross but Tony had been covered in worse fluids. Considering his working binges in his workshop he was kind of used to being covered in all types of strange liquids. Baby drool actually felt a little better than oil… that was the single weirdest thought Tony had ever had in his life.

“I have compiled a short list of several highly recommended paediatricians who have, to the best of my knowledge, no animosity towards mutant children. I have also pulled up information on a Professor Charles Xavier of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. It is not openly advertised but the school seems to be solely for mutant kind and offers a wide variety of courses. Professor Xavier is also considered the world’s leading expert on mutations.”

“Is he a mutant too?” Tony asked, more out of curiosity than anything else.

“Unknown.”

“Right, Jarvis, swing those files by Pepper, let her pick the best doctor. Privacy agreements all the way - I trust her opinion the most and send out an invitation to Professor Xavier too.”

“Shall I inform him of Young Sir’s mutation?”

“Not yet. Give him enough that he’ll make the trip, bribe him if you have to, but for now I wanna keep Jonah’s mutation hush hush. Understand? That’s a secret that stays between us, erect new firewalls and keep it secret.”

“Of course Sir.”

“You got that too Happy?”

“Yes Sir!” Happy agreed, standing up from putting down the last of the boxes. “Will that be all Sir? Would you like me to help set up some of the furniture?” He gestured at the boxes and Tony finally paid attention to the stuff he’d bought. Noting the pictures on the boxes it seemed as though he’d bought a whole nursery worth of furniture. Good.

“Not yet Happy, gotta get the room painted first.” And completely redesigned. The only rooms fit to be turned into a nursery were on the other side of the house and nowhere near his bedroom. That was not OK. He made plans in his mind for turning half his room into a nursery. It would be inconvenient if he brought anyone home but… Tony looked down at his son. That would have to happen a lot less from now on. There was a lot that would have to change now. “But you can help me, head to the bar and take anything you want. Everything else is going to be thrown out. If you want it, take it. If you know someone who might want it, take it for them. Anything else dump down the sink for me will you? I also have a stash in the workshop and another in my room. Same rules for them.” Tony’s father had been a drunk. Tony would not make the same mistake. He was going into parenthood sober and he was going to stay that way.

Happy looked surprised but pleasantly so. Tony wasn’t sure if it was because he was happy with Tony’s life choices or if he was just happy with free booze. Either way Tony wasn’t paying attention anymore, he’d taken Jonah over and was digging, one handed, through one of the boxes.

“Well, if I’d realized that this was all it took to get you sober…” A familiar voice rang out from the entrance.

There were only four people, three besides Tony, who had free access to his house. Happy Hogan, Virginia Potts and James Rhodes.

With a grin Tony turned to face his best friend, “Rhodey bear!” He exclaimed happily, albeit quietly. He didn’t want to startle Jonah again now that he’d calmed down. “You can take what you’d like as well, I know you’ve been eyeing my 1926 Macallan.”

“Too late!” Happy called from the bar, apparently having already claimed the aforementioned bottle.

“That’s alright Tones, actually I’m here with some paperwork from Pepper.” Rhodey looked meaningfully at the bundle in Tony’s arms. “And why aren’t you wearing a shirt?”

“Skin on skin contact is soothing for babies, it also helps parental bonding.” Tony stated smartly, as though he hadn’t learned it himself only three minutes ago. He absently ran a hand up and down his baby’s back and looked down when Jonah stretched a little and scrunched up happily in Tony’s arms. His face nuzzling Tony’s chest and his little wings stretching out briefly before folding back down to rest against his back. Tony smiled down at his Little Angel and held him a little closer. His heart was melting a little at how much Jonah seemed to be bonding with him already. Was imprinting a thing with babies? He made a mental note to look it up later.

“Ok that was adorable.” Rhodey admitted, watching the exchange with openly curious eyes. “You going to introduce us?”

Tony smiled, wide and bright, “Rhodey I’d like you to meet Jonah Angel Stark, my son.” Tony felt like his face might break in two his smile was so huge. He couldn’t ever remember smiling like this before. “Jonah, this is your uncle Rhodes.”

“Hey there baby, I’ve known your dad for a long time. I was kind of wondering what he was thinking but looking at you I think I can guess.” Rhodey addressed the youngest Stark. He whistled as he looked up at Tony. “He sure is cute. Just checking but you do realize that being a parent isn’t the same as owning a pet right? I mean you didn’t just wander into the orphanage, pick your favourite and then buy treats for him did you?”

Tony knew that Rhodey was only joking and he had a quip right on the tip of his tongue but Jarvis beat him to it.

“Actually Sirs, during my research I’ve noticed several similarities between parenthood and pet ownership. Would you like me to list them?”

Chuckling, Tony waved off his AI, “No thanks Jarvis. We’re good.” Tony turned his attention back at Rhodey. “As for what I was thinking, look at his wings.”

James looked at the cute little wings and raised an eyebrow. “They’re adorable?”

“No, look closer.”

James did. He studied the tiny little wings carefully and noticed what he’d missed at first glance. The broken feathers, the raw red colour of the skin that could only be seen because so many feathers were missing. Jonah’s wings were in poor shape. “What the-?”

“They did this to him Rhodes, because he’s a mutant. They were going to discuss ‘surgical options’ to make him more normal.” Tony spat, still seething over what had happened. Jonah hadn’t been his at the time but he was now and he was regretting not putting that woman through hell before he let her go. He might follow up with her later.

“And that’s all it took for you to decide to become his father?” Rhodey asked, looking Tony in the eye. His expression was carefully blank. Not judgemental in any way.

“Yes.” Tony answered simply. “It was.”

Rhodey held Tony’s gaze for a moment longer before nodding and Tony smiled again, knowing he now had his best friend’s approval. Rhodey turned his attention back down to the blonde baby who was still rubbing his face into Tony’s chest. “Welcome to the family little man.”


	3. bath time and baby babble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was as Tony lay a towel on the floor and put a plastic ‘change mat’ on top that Tony realized, “Right, tummy only.” He looked down at Jonah who was just drooling happily. “We’ll figure it out won’t we?”
> 
> Jonah made a sound that was kind of like a string of ‘b’ sounds.
> 
> “Exactly. I’m a genius. There’s nothing in this world that your Daddy can’t figure out. So nappy first.”

Rhodey helped Tony with the paperwork, making sure he dotted all the t’s and crossed all the i’s, and they had it finished in no time. Tony wanted this paperwork sorted and legal before Obie got wind of what they were doing. His pseudo father figure was great, most of the time, but he was a little too controlling. Tony wouldn’t let Obadiah take Jonah away from him, Tony wouldn’t let anyone take his baby away from him.

While they were discussing the finer points of adoption with Jarvis, Jonah was finally completely awake. So far he’d been pretty happy, just sitting with his new Dad. Tony was startled out of his conversation however when he felt a little, wet mouth latch onto his chest with a loud slurping noise. He looked down to see Jonah attempting to suckle on his chest, trailing his mouth along his pecks, leaving lines of drool in his wake.

Rhodey was watching the whole thing with a bemused expression. “I don’t think you’re going to find what you’re looking for little man.” He said with a chuckle.

“Hungry!” Tony cried out. “Of course he’s hungry!”

“Formula, bottles and appropriate cleaning items have been delivered.” Jarvis spoke without prompting and guided the pair to the box with said items. “The formula purchased is considered the best substitute for breastmilk currently available on the market.” 

“Thanks Jarvis!” Tony called out as he rummaged through the aforementioned box with Rhodey. Happy had already left with a smile on his face and several bottles of alcohol in his arms. He pulled out a tin of formula somewhat clumsily with one hand. Rhodey was pulling out bottles and a little sterilizing machine which he took the liberty of taking to the kitchen to set up while Tony looked at the directions on the formula tin. Where he encountered a problem that would have made him slap his forehead if he’d had a hand free. He looked down at his little drooling bundle of joy. “How old are you?”

“Tones!” Rhodey gave an exasperated sigh.

“What? It wasn’t on the adoption papers or anything!”

“If I may Sir,” Jarvis interrupted in his polite British way, “Judging by scans of Jonah and comparing him to medical diagrams as well as numerous pictures of other babies I would estimate his age to be around three-to-six months.”

“That’s a pretty broad spectrum. Explain.” Tony demanded as Jonah started to get fussy again.

“My scans also indicate that he is slightly malnourished, his growth may be slightly hindered because of it. Knowing this, it is difficult to pinpoint an exact age.”

All the breath left Tony’s lungs in a loud exhale, dropping the formula he held Jonah to him, as tight as he could without hurting him. Jonah fussed a little more, clearly hungry but Tony just needed a moment.

“Hey, you alright?” Rhodey had come over when he heard the formula fall. “What’s going on?”

Tony looked up at his best friend. “I almost didn’t go. I tried to convince Pepper to get me out of it. They were hurting him and if I hadn’t gone… They would have cut off his wings. They weren’t feeding him properly. I almost didn’t go.” Tony was just overwhelmed by the gravity his decision had on Jonah’s life. Jonah may not have even survived if Tony hadn’t gone to the orphanage that day.

“But you did go, and now you’ve got a hungry little man to take care of.” Rhodey reassured with a grounding hand on Tony’s shoulder.

“Right.” Tony took a deep breath and picked up the formula again, balancing both it and his baby boy as he headed to the kitchen. The instructions on the formula were simple enough and the sterilizing machine only needed a few minutes to clean the bottles for their first use. Rhodey had also already boiled water and was cooling some by balancing a cup full in some colder water.

Now Tony had another dilemma. He wanted to make Jonah’s first bottle, so when Rhodey grabbed the formula Tony grabbed the bottle. Then they just kind of looked at each other. Jonah was working himself up again and had started crying.

Rhodes caught onto the problem quickly and sighed with a roll of his eyes, “Fine, let me hold him while you make the bottle. It’d be better if you practiced anyway.” Rhodey held out his hands and waited.

Tony hesitated. He wanted to make Jonah’s first bottle but at the same time he was having trouble with the idea of passing Jonah over to Rhodey. He didn’t really understand it but as Rhodey made grabby hands Tony held Jonah closer. There was just a gut feeling in Tony telling him that he had to hold his baby. That he had to keep the baby safe. His logical mind knew that Rhodey wasn’t a threat, if anything his best friend could be trusted with Jonah more than he could but… He just couldn’t stomach the idea of letting someone else hold Jonah.

“Tones, he’s not a new toy. I just want to hold him, not take him away.”

Jarvis, the saint, interrupted again. “If I may, Sir’s reaction is a normal instinctive reaction. Many new parents find it difficult to allow others to hold their babies.”

Rhodey shook his head, “Wow Tones, you’ve got it bad.”

“Sorry.” Tony couldn’t really understand why he was reacting the way he was but Jonah was upset and hungry so he made a quick decision. If there was anyone on this planet he could trust, it was Rhodey. Through thick and thin Rhodes had always been by his side. Even against his father, and no one, not even Obadiah, stood up to Howard Stark for Tony. But Rhodey had. Rhodey had never let him down. Tony highly doubted he would have survived his teen years if it weren’t for his best friend. He held out the now incredibly cranky infant to his best friend. He was still only half wrapped in a blanket. “Just… be careful?” Tony knew he didn’t need to ask but he couldn’t seem to hold the words back.

“Hey little man, I got you.” Rhodey took Jonah into his arms, Jonah immediately cried harder and Tony held his breath for a few seconds. He relaxed a little when Rhodey held Jonah to his chest. “It’s fine, your Daddy’s just making you some grub.” But Jonah wasn’t hearing any of it. He was flailing his little arms and working himself up to full tantrum mode. It wasn't long before Jonah was screaming his displeasure and flailing for all he was worth, apparently not at all happy with this new arrangement. Rhodey had siblings and he'd held babies before, he tried bouncing and shushing but nothing seemed to work. Jonah would not be settled.

With great difficulty, seriously it felt like one of the most difficult things he had ever done in his life, Tony turned away from Jonah. He prepared the bottle as quickly as he could, reading through the instructions several times to make sure he was doing it right. After what felt like hours, but was only a few minutes, Tony had a warm bottle ready for Jonah. He had Jarvis scan it and it was the perfect temperature. By this time Jonah was really screaming.

With the bottle made and ready Tony reached back for Jonah and to his relief Rhodey handed him back straight away. With baby and bottle Tony went and sat down on the couch in the large, open living area. Jarvis displayed some instructions on how to position Jonah and how to help him drink the bottle. At first Jonah spat the teat out and cried even more but Tony squirted a little in his mouth and he finally got the idea.

“There you go baby, tastes good right? Best formula money can buy. Starks don’t settle.” Tony cooed down at his son, who was staring up at him with an adorable little frown. Tony almost melted in his boy’s baby blues.

“Oh god you’re going to spoil him rotten.” Rhodey moaned dramatically, taking a seat next across from the two Starks.

“With love.” Tony countered with a cheeky grin. Rhodey smiled back, happy seeing his friend so happy.

Rhodey knew that Tony hadn’t had the best childhood. His father had been a neglectful drunk for the most part and violent on occasion. Rhodey knew for a fact that Tony wouldn’t have told him the whole story. Something that Rhodes wished he could punch Howard for – Stark men aren’t weak. But as James watched Tony with his new son, he just knew that Tony wouldn’t be teaching Jonah any of that bullshit. “You’re going to be an amazing father. Jonah’s one lucky little guy.”

“I think I’m the lucky one.” Tony mumbled, his attention now back on the little one in his arms. “Look at him Rhodey, he’s just perfect. And mine. Perfectly mine. Aren’t you Jonah? You my baby?” He asked in a silly voice.

Just for a second, with his mouth still full of teat, Jonah smiled.

Tony gasped. “Jarvis tell me you got that.” 

“I have been recording constantly from the moment Jonah entered the premises Sir.”

“Ok then. This is too much cute. I feel like I need to go get into a bar fight or something to reassert my manliness.” Rhodey stood up. “I need to get this paperwork back to Pepper, she’ll be swinging by tomorrow and I’m going to be in town for the next few days. I have to work but I should be able to visit a little bit before they send me somewhere else. If you need anything, call me.”

“Thanks Rhodey bear.”

“Anytime Tones.” Rhodey said as he turned to leave. Then he stopped and turned back to his friend. “I am kidding. Don’t do this again. At least not for a few years ok?”

Rhodey left and Tony successfully fed and burped his baby. In the process of which he was thrown up on and Jonah had soiled himself. So they reached their next hurdle. “I think we both need a bath; don’t we baby?”

Tony had Jarvis pull up all the relevant information on bathing babies. He was delighted when he found some articles about bathing together. “You wanna bath with Daddy? Help clean all this puke off me?” The ‘help’ would be largely of the motivational kind but it still counted, Tony reasoned to himself as he headed back over to the boxes. Jarvis led him to a box with a handy little plastic seat-thing designed to sit in big people baths, so babies could sit in them. It seemed like a novel idea and Tony couldn’t wait to try it out. He also dug through and found some clothes. He pulled out a plain, white halter top – it was obviously for girls but Jonah had wings so they had to improvise until Tony could find something better – and some grey tracksuit pants that had in built booties. He dubbed them ‘feetie pants’. He also pulled out some nappies, baby powder and a whole slew of other baby bathing products. Most of which he was sure he wouldn’t need. He had to make a second trip for towels.

By this point Tony was contemplating buying a small pram for around the house.

It was as Tony lay a towel on the floor and put a plastic ‘change mat’ on top that Tony realized, “Right, tummy only.” He looked down at Jonah who was just drooling happily. “We’ll figure it out won’t we?”

Jonah made a sound that was kind of like a string of ‘b’ sounds.

“Exactly. I’m a genius. There’s nothing in this world that your Daddy can’t figure out. So nappy first.” Tony, a little clumsily, put Jonah down on the mat on his tummy. Jonah lifted up his head a bit to look around, curious about his new position on the floor. Jarvis had already raised the temperature in the bathroom accordingly. Tony couldn’t resist leaning down so he could look at Jonah lifting up his head. “Hey Angel, world looks a bit different down here doesn’t it?”

“Bbbbbb.” Jonah babbled, drooling all over himself, but his eyes were on Tony’s face and he seemed to be tracking Tony’s movements. This was good. Tony had been reading up on baby development while feeding Jonah. Jonah had good head and neck control, he was making sounds, and he could track movement with his eyes. Definitely hit some of the three month milestones which meant he was probably a little older that that.

Moving around to Jonah’s back, Tony shimmied his son out of his blanket and pants. Soon he was bare bummed and kicking. His little legs were pumping like little pistons, apparently happy to be free from their confines. “Huh, is that it?” He looked at the yellowish stain on the nappy and Jonah’s backside. It hardly looked like poo at all. It didn’t even smell that bad. He pulled out some wipes and had Jonah cleaned up in no time.

He tossed out the nappy and held up the blanket, contemplating tossing it as well. He looked down at Jonah, who seemed quite happy just lying on his tummy and looking around. Tony dumped it in the hamper instead. “When the blanket in cleaned make sure it’s put aside. Jonah may want it when he’s older.” Tony would be honest with Jonah; his son was adopted but he’d make sure that Jonah knew how much he cared for him. He’d fallen in love with the little drooling mess on his bathroom floor and when Tony fell, he fell hard. Jonah was his son. It was as simple as that.

“Certainly Sir, shall I run a bath for you both?”

“Yeah J.” Tony knelt down in front of his little bundle. “Ready for a bath?” Unfortunately, the bath seat was useless now too. They’d have to do this tummy-to-tummy. He’d never just ignore Jonah’s wings or hurt them like those other people had. 

With the bath ready Tony stripped and picked up his naked baby. Jarvis had assured him that bathing with babies was a normal parent thing and Tony was determined to fit in as many ‘normal parent things’ into Jonah’s life as humanly possible. It felt a little weird but Jonah seemed overjoyed with the extra skin on skin contact, kicking out his chubby legs and even smiling again when Tony held him close. Tony almost turned into a puddle of goo when Jonah smiled again, when Jonah smiled his whole face seemed to smile. He wondered if he’d always feel this happy when his baby smiled, he hoped so. “You are too adorable.”

“Bbbbbb.” Jonah continued to babble, clearly not keen on stopping now that he’d built up steam.

“You’re one smart little guy.” Tony praised, and as he stepped into his bath he was never more thankful for the stickers that stopped him from slipping over. He carefully lowered himself into the water, it was cooler than he usually preferred it but Tony knew Jarvis was operating on Jonah’s best interests. As he lowered himself into the water with Jonah, his little boy stopped babbling and started to frown. “Feels a bit weird? I don’t know if you’ve had a bath before. It’s alright, Daddy’s right here. We’ll get nice and clean and then you can wear some new clothes. I probably should have washed them first but we’ll cheat this time, Jarvis would let us know if they had anything yucky on them, wouldn’t you J?”

“Of course Sir. Little Angel Protocol is in full effect.”

“That’s J’s way of saying he cares.” Tony assured his son who was still frowning at the water he was sitting in. Tony rested in the bath slightly reclined with his back against the edge of the tub. Jonah was lying on his chest and the water was high enough to cover Jonah’s legs but it left his back clear. “J is there any relevant information on how I can care for his wings? Can they get wet or should I keep them out of the water?”

“Keeping the wings moist should help encourage the skin to heal. Perhaps a gentle moisturizer after his bath? The only information I can find is for the care of various bird species’.”

“Ok that’s good though. Better than nothing. Looks like we’ll be figuring this out on our own unless this Xavier knows anyone else with wings.” It was possible, unlikely, but possible. “Do you think the feathers will grow back?”

“Most likely Sir.”

“That’s good.” Tony ran his hands up and down Jonah’s back. “You’ll be fine my Little Angel.”

Smack! Jonah managed to slap the water with one of his tiny hands. The resulting splash made him smile. So he did it again. 

Tony laughed, “That’s it, not scary at all is it? Just wait ‘till you’re old enough for bubble baths.” Holding his son close Tony felt complete in a way he could never remember feeling before. He also felt humbled, this tiny creature trusted him and he would never betray that trust. Tony couldn’t promise Jonah everything, but he could promise that Jonah would always have a good father.

Tony was careful with Jonah and his wings. He turned Jonah over in the water so he could kick around while Tony supported his head and upper back. Jonah stretched out his little wings under the water and soon they were flapping as energetically as his legs were kicking. Jonah seemed absolutely delighted that he could move his wings so freely. Tony was just relieved that Jonah’s wings were moving smoothly and was hopeful that there’d be no permanent damage.

After their bath Tony wrapped them both up in his towel robe. Jarvis had heated up the entire house so they didn’t have to worry about getting cold while Tony dried them both off. He left the damp robe on himself and sat on the floor with Jonah. He told Jarvis to remind him to set up one of the changing tables in the bathroom. Using the towels on the ground as padding Tony began the surprisingly difficult task of dressing Jonah. It was a little tricky with Jonah on his tummy but Tony persevered and finally he had a clean, dressed baby. Who looked absolutely adorable in his little white halter top and grey feetie pants. Tony then made sure to rub some aloe moisturiser into the raw patches on Jonah’s wings. Jonah actually seemed to enjoy it.

He picked up his little charge and headed to his bedroom. “He can’t sleep on his back but I read a while ago that babies shouldn’t sleep on their tummies.”

“There have been studies linking sleeping on the stomach to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.”

“Ok, that sounds horrifying. So no tummy sleeping but…” Tony looked down at Jonah who was snuggling himself into Tony’s robe. “We’ll have to figure something out. He can’t sleep on his back right now.”

Later, when it was time for bed, Tony propped himself up with his pillows and sat Jonah in his lap. “J hit the lights, and display all the parenting data you found today.” Jarvis did as requested and as Jonah slept in Tony’s arms, Tony stayed awake and learned all he could about being a parent.

He read through everything and compiled a list for the Little Angel Protocol. He had Jarvis help him sort and prioritize the list until it was as perfect as he could make it at two in the morning. Then Jonah woke up hungry and cranky. Tony fed and changed his son before heading back to bed. This time Jonah sat up with him for a while, watching the brightly lit holographic screens flit around the room. Tony was waving his hands around when Jonah started to wave his hands too, flapping his arms cutely with another of his little frowns.

Jarvis flicked a little screen down to Jonah with some kids pictures on it. Jonah smiled again and tried to touch it. Jarvis changed the screen with Jonah’s hand movements.

“Look at this little genius.” Tony yawned as he watched his son proudly. “Just like his Dad.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have blisters on three fingers and the thumb on my right hand. This is literally the most painful chapter I have ever written 0.o


	4. Plans for the day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Just call her Pepper. Or Pep for short.” Tony advised his son.
> 
> Pepper sighed, a sound she made all too often around Tony. “What is the point of giving me a nickname if you’re only going to shorten it anyway?”

Virginia Potts, for the most part, was a tolerant woman. At least she had thought so until she met and was employed by one Tony Stark. She had taken the position because she had been fresh out of school and no one wanted a Personal Assistant without prior experience. She’d met Tony and within five minutes he’d decided that she was the one. She still had no idea if it was due to her extensive qualifications or because she had ‘a nice rack’, but either way she enjoyed her job… For the most part. And Tony, for the most part, had never made any sexual overtures at his PA. He flirted as he breathed but he had never made her uncomfortable or pushed her into anything. She was sure that most of it was spoken in jest.

She had been working with Tony for three years now, he’d hired her a few days before his nineteenth birthday in preparation for taking over his company in the following years. She had learned a lot working for Tony. Including, but not limited to, the fact that Tony had a fondness for nicknames and had dubbed her ‘Pepper’ pretty much from their first meeting. As well as the fact that her boss was a giant man-child who didn’t function like a normal human being. Tony barely remembered to sleep or even bathe when he was on a ‘science binge’ and her job had become an odd balancing act between helping Tony manage his company and helping Tony manage his life. To say that she was worried about him becoming a father was an understatement.

Still, she had hope. She knew that Tony had a good heart and hoped that maybe this would be the nudge he needed in his life to grow up a little and become the man she knew he was capable of being. It wouldn’t stop her from giving him a lecture about unexpectedly adopting random babies, but she’d be lecturing him with love. Even though she would never admit it to anyone, during her years working with Tony he had become important to her. He was one of her dearest friends and even Rhodey had accepted her into their little circle. Pepper had never really had a ‘circle’ before. She’d always been career driven and so had a hard time fitting in with others her own age at school and then at university. When Tony had hired her, and ‘named’ her, she had become a part of an odd little family. A family that before yesterday had consisted of only Rhodey, Pepper and Happy. She guessed there was one more family member now.

“Good morning Miss Potts.” Jarvis greeted politely.

“Good morning Jarvis. Where-?” She’s been about to ask Tony’s whereabouts but cut off when she noticed something on the walls. The walls of the entrance to the Malibu estate were lined with digital frames. Tony had put them there a while ago because he’d been too lazy to hang up printed photos of his ‘successes’. Up until yesterday they’d been shots of Tony winning awards, winning at beer pong, and with various female ‘conquests’ on his arm. Today, there were shots that had to have been taken yesterday. Each and every single one had pictures of Jonah, Jonah and Tony, and one in particular with Jonah, Tony and Rhodey.

They were… adorable! She stared for a long time, looking from picture to picture. She saw Tony bathing Jonah (it was taken tastefully with nothing indecent showing), Tony feeding Jonah, Jonah sleeping in Tony’s arms… There was a particularly cute one of Jonah playing with one of Tony’s holographic screens, the lighting the background was low but the screen itself lit up the baby’s face and made his blue eyes glow. Pepper had to admit, Jonah was gorgeous. But that wasn’t what made her stop for so long. The thing that made her catch her breath slightly and smile fondly was the look on Tony’s face. In every single picture she could see the love in the new father’s eyes. It was clear that Tony adored Jonah already. Pepper could never remember Tony looking like that before now. It was innocent in a way that Tony hadn’t been for as long as Pepper had known him. 

She came across another frame but frowned slightly when she noticed its contents. It was a picture of Tony and Obadiah at an award ceremony. “Why did you leave this one up? Tony hated that award.”

“Is this better?” Jarvis asked as he changed the picture to one of Jonah on the towels on the bathroom floor, he was on his tummy and completely naked with his wings splayed out cutely behind him. Jarvis had managed to capture the exact moment Jonah had looked up at Tony with a smile.

“Much better!” Pepper praised.

“May I ask a favour Miss Potts?”

“Of course Jarvis, anything. Unless Tony’s trying to get out of something again, in which case not on your motherboarding life.”

“Please do not inform Sir of my changes to the portraits, I was hoping they would be a ‘surprise’.”

Pepper smiled warmly at the ceiling. She knew that technically Jarvis wasn’t in the ceiling but it just became habit after a while to look up when speaking to Jarvis. “That shouldn’t be a problem, I’m sure Tony will love it.”

“Thank you Miss Potts. Sir and Young Sir are currently on the living room floor. Sir has been ‘dozing’ for a few minutes.”

“I’ll be quiet Jarvis, thank you.” Pepper removed her heels and left them at the entrance, stepping through the house in stockinged feet. Tony rarely slept so there was kind of a silent agreement among his circle that if they found him asleep they did their best not to disturb it. Happy, Pepper and Rhodey had become experts at walking silently. Tony often accused them of being ninjas.

Pepper crept through to the lounge room, having a little quiet giggle at the fact that she was ‘creeping’. What would the press think if they could see her now? When she finally entered the large living space she had to stop for a moment at the sight that greeted her. Scattered across the floor was a variety of baby toys, all age appropriate. In the centre of the floor lay Tony, on his back with his mouth wide open and snoring. On his left was little Jonah, on his tummy happily munching on a teething toy. Tony’s arm was curled around Jonah protectively so that even as he slept Jonah wouldn’t be able to get into any trouble. Of course with Jarvis watching that was highly unlikely anyway.

Jonah was in a cute little set of blue overalls that crossed over at the back and allowed his wings to have full movement. His feet were bare and he was kicking them occasionally but apart from that seemed quite content to snuggle up to his Daddy’s side with his little squishy ring.

Lightly, trying not to wake Jonah’s Dad, Pepper wandered over and took a seat next to Tony on the floor. It was a little difficult in her skirt but she managed. She wanted to get a good look at Jonah.

When Pepper sat down Jonah turned to her. He had short blond curls atop his head and the brightest blue eyes that Pepper had ever seen. His skin was an adorable pink and his cheeks were so cute and chubby that she had to fight the urge to pinch them slightly. She couldn’t help but coo a little at Jonah’s tiny little hands and tiny little feet. “So cute!” She whispered. And Jonah seemed to flutter his wings slightly at the praise. It was probably an unrelated flutter but Pepper thought it was still likely he was responding to the verbal stimulation.

Jonah started making noises but they were distorted because he wasn’t taking his toy out of his mouth. He almost sounded like he was saying ‘Num num num’. 

“Oh is that yummy is it?” Pepper asked quietly, “Is it helping your gums?” She had done her own reading on parenting last night in order to help Tony if he needed it. Although a cursory glance would suggest he had it mostly covered. She’d even seen the child-proof gate at the top of the stairs that led down to the workshop and garage. She’d have to start a betting pool with they’re friends on which baby ‘appliances’ that Tony would be upgrading first. Little Jonah would probably be ending up in the most advanced cot the world had ever seen!

“Aummanumnumaaa,” Jonah babbled cutely, his lower face already covered in drool. He tilted his head to the side so that it rested against Tony’s arm, it cut off his view of Pepper but he just kept chewing happily. “Ummmaannaumma,” He continued while drooling all over himself and his Daddy’s arm.

Pepper giggled.

Tony snapped awake at the unexpected sound. In one smooth motion he darted up and turned around on his knees, grabbing and holding Jonah close to his chest on the way. His eyes were wide and panicked as he looked back at Pepper. As soon as he noticed who it was he calmed. Unfortunately, Jonah was not so easily placated.

Jonah started to cry, his cute little face scrunched up and his little mouth turned down.

“Oh no no no!” Tony soothed, “Did Daddy scare you?” He stood up, slowly this time, and started to bounce Jonah. “I’m sorry baby, Daddy had a nightmare. I thought someone was taking you away, but no one is taking you away are they? No they’re not. You’re my baby angel. Yes, you are.” Tony cooed and Jonah calmed but he was still sticking out his bottom lip and snuffling. Tony looked at his PA who was just standing up as well. “Sorry Pep. You just startled me a little. How long have you been here?”

“It’s alright. I’ve only just arrived. I came to go over todays itinerary with you, as well as to meet Jonah of course.” She looked down at the little on in Tony’s arms who still looked a bit grumpy, although he’d managed to keep hold of his toy and had put it back into his mouth. “Hello Jonah Stark, my name is Virginia Potts and I work with your Dad.” She introduced herself formally.

“Just call her Pepper. Or Pep for short.” Tony advised his son.

Pepper sighed, a sound she made all too often around Tony. “What is the point of giving me a nickname if you’re only going to shorten it anyway?”

Tony just shrugged, hitching Jonah up higher on his shoulder and wandering over to the kitchen. “I’m a genius Pepper, don’t try to understand the inner workings of my mind. Just know that I am smarter than everyone else.”

Pepper snorted and Jonah smiled at her over Tony’s shoulder. Noticing his reaction, Pepper poked out her tongue. Jonah smiled and got so excited that he threw his toy on the ground over Tony’s shoulder. Then he brought his hand back to his mouth and when he realized that his toy was no longer in his hand he became upset again.

Tony looked at Jonah’s empty hands. “Did you drop your toy again? Pepper would you mind picking up a clean one from over there?” He gestured at where he’d been laying with Jonah. “I’ll clean the drooly one before he uses it again.” Pepper wandered over and picked up a bright blue rattle, before bringing it over and giving it to Jonah.

“No!” Tony cried out. “Not the rattle!” He moaned dramatically.

Jonah smiled as soon as the little toy was in his hands and he began to shake it furiously, banging it against his Dad’s shoulder, head and neck while doing so. Pepper giggled.

“Love is pain!” Tony cried out as he tried to shield himself from the beating Jonah was inadvertently giving him.

“Concussion by baby won’t get you out of work today.” Pepper warned with a smile on her face as she pulled out her Starkphone. “You have a meeting with Miss Williams at lunch today, she’s scheduled an interview with yourself and Jonah. There will be photos but she’s agreed to be flexible on the ‘content’. I’m assuming she was speaking in regards to Jonah’s mutation. Professor Charles Xavier of Xavier’s Institute is flying out this morning and has agreed to meet with you this afternoon. I cancelled the appointment I had made with a paediatrician because he’s bringing Dr Cecilia Reyes with him, she’s the school’s physician and also specializes in caring for children with mutations. Privacy agreements have already been printed and signed by all parties.”

“She any good?” Tony asked while trying to make a bottle around Jonah’s flailing arms and rattle.

“The best in her field. She’s uniquely qualified to attend to Jonah’s medical needs.”

“And Obie?”

“Remains blissfully unaware of recent developments.”

“Keep it that way for as long as possible. I don’t want him interfering yet, I just want to focus on Jonah for now.” And by focus, in this instant, it meant dodge another few swings of the rattle. Although Tony managed to calm down Jonah with well-timed bottle teat to the mouth. Jonah drank deeply but still held onto his rattle as tightly as he could. The look in his eyes almost daring his father to take the rattle from him.

“Of course.” She typed a few things on her phone. “You have three hours to get yourself and Jonah ready for the interview.”

Tony looked at Pepper and stuck out his bottom lip.

She rolled her eyes. “Fine I’ll help, but only because I don’t want Jonah to look bad in his first official photos.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be some 'time skips' in the near future but I want Tony to experience some of the 'firsts' of parenthood first and then baby Jonah has to meet some people :P


	5. Complicated Minds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jonah and Tony have an interview with Miss Williams and then Charles Xavier comes to visit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long, Christmas almost killed me and it did kill my dog. So yeah, sucky times for me. But I'm back and updating so yay!

Rachel Williams along with her ever faithful cameraman entered the Stark Malibu Estate at midday. She was welcomed by Miss Potts and given a quick tour of the house. There were workers in the master bedroom and although their work seemed to be in the early stages, Rachel could see that Mr Stark was turning half of his own room into a nursery for his son.

“May I?” She asked Miss Potts as she gestured at her cameraman. With a nod from the red head she had a few tasteful shots of the room taken, carefully noting the work being put in as well as the now completely empty bar. She made a few notes and continued the tour and while she wasn’t allowed down to the garage level she was pleased to see the child safe gate that prevented Jonah from accidentally finding his way down there too. She had another picture taken of the gate.

When they arrived in the kitchen she was once more pleasantly surprised to see the bar was completely empty, save for glasses. She had a photo taken of that as well.

Tony and Jonah Stark were out on the patio where an informal lunch had been prepared. They saw Tony playing with Jonah through the glass before they joined them outside.

Rachel had a photo taken of that as well. Tony, dressed in a casual but expensive suit, with his shirtsleeves rolled up while he lay on the ground playing with his son.

“You understand we may have to screen the photos.” Miss Potts informed them with no inflection as they made their way outside.

“We can edit them so that Jonah’s mutation is not displayed publicly if that is your concern.” Rachel assured her. She wouldn’t be silly enough to get into Stark’s bad graces.

Miss Potts nodded with a tight smile before opening the door and leading them outside. The sun was shining brightly but the day wasn’t too warm and there was a light, cool breeze flowing in from the ocean. Lunch was simple sandwiches, salads and fruit. Tony was wearing a white shirt and black slacks, there was also a charcoal grey blazer hanging over the back of one of the chairs but Stark had clearly ditched in in favour of playing with his son. The patio was wide and paved in stone but Stark had put a giant blue blanket down for Jonah to play on and there were a few toys scattered around.

Jonah was wearing a white button up shirt with a black collar, it was sleeveless and opened at the back. It looked like a cross between a halter and a dress shirt. He was also wearing cute black shorts that left most of his cute chubby legs bare. He was on the ground, on his tummy with his wings flapping energetically behind him. His father was laying on the ground too, on his tummy in front of Jonah so that they were face to face. As they walked out onto the patio Tony looked back at them and sighed. “Well I guess play time’s over, ready to get to work Jonah?”

Jonah put his toy back in his mouth, it was the same pink squishy ring he had earlier but now it had been cleaned.

Tony smiled as he got up and then reached for his son. When Jonah realized he was being picked up by Tony he smiled and flapped his little wings excitedly. Jonah’s wings looked much better today, there were still feather’s missing and bare patches but they weren’t angry and red anymore. Jonah also really seemed to enjoy the aloe baby moisturizer Tony had been using on them. Either way, today he was a much happier baby.

“Oh you like that? Wanna be picked up by Daddy?” Tony talked to his baby as he lifted him. He picked Jonah up carefully but luckily enough Jonah had great head and neck control so Tony didn’t have to worry too much about accidentally hurting him. Jonah smiled again and when he was safely in his new father’s arms he smooshed his teething ring into Tony’s face. Tony laughed. “Oh is it my turn? You want to share? Omnomnom!” Tony made exaggerated noises as he bit at the toy playfully. Jonah smiled again but put the toy back in his mouth. “Alright, enough for Daddy then.” He turned to face the two women and the cameraman who were watching him. “Uh sorry. He’s very distracting.” He explained as he hitched Jonah up on his hip, he shot a little smile at Jonah. “In the best way.”

They all took their seats near the food laden table. Miss Williams wanted her interview and Tony was a man of his word. Jonah had already had ‘lunch’ a short while before the reporter had arrived and Tony himself ate his meals so irregularly that holding off on lunch until afterwards wouldn’t be that big of a deal. Of course he had to start eating better now too, he had to be a good example for Jonah.

“Before we start, I was wondering if I could ask you a few things? Off the record.” Rachel started, brushing her brunet hair out of her face while she straightened her notes.

Tony scoffed as he straightened Jonah so he was comfortably sitting in Tony’s lap. “In my experience nothing has ever been ‘off the record’.”

“This will be.” Miss Williams assured quickly. “I have no intention of souring this deal, it’s a massive opportunity and I am smart enough to take advantage of it. These questions are only to sate my personal curiosity and shall remain that way, although it is important to me that they are answered.”

Tony shrugged and bounced Jonah lightly on his knee. “Well ask away. I can’t promise I’ll answer them all.” 

Pepper had taken the seat on Tony’s other side and was watching the proceedings carefully, ready to intervene should she feel she needed to. She wanted to make sure the whole adoption was spun in a positive light for both Tony and Jonah. She wondered at Rachel’s choice of words but kept her expression as the usual polite mask she wore for the press.

“It’s about Jonah’s mutation, I am of the understanding that you would like to keep it a secret?”

“Yes I would.” Tony answered with narrowed eyes, wondering at the point she was trying to make.

“If you don’t mind me asking, is that because it’s best for Jonah or are you just worried about your image and that of your company?” Rachel’s voice was sharp and her eyes were cold. This was important to her, and it would be important for Jonah as well.

Pepper was about to interfere but Tony beat her to it.

“What? No!” Tony was disgusted at the very thought. “How could you – just no. I want to keep it a secret because Jonah is just a baby. There’s a lot of hate out there right now for mutant kind and I do believe it needs to change and I will financially back efforts to do so – anonymously – but I want to keep Jonah away from all of that hate for as long as I can. I am a public figure, I can’t help being who I am, if the world knew that Jonah was a mutant he could become a target. If the world knew that I was supporting mutant rights efforts, then Jonah could become a target. The only thing – the ONLY thing – that Jonah should be worried about right now is growing up happy and healthy. I can’t shield him from this forever, I can’t shield him from the world forever. This will eventually be found out and when it is I will be there to openly support my son as well as openly support the mutant rights movement but… for now at least… I just want to focus on Jonah. And I want Jonah to have as happy a childhood as possible.”

“Bbbbbbbb,” Jonah interrupted while looking up at his Dad. His toy was still in his hand but was being ignored as he looked up at his father and babbled for attention.

Tony looked down at Jonah and Jonah smiled again, Tony calmed instantly and smiled back at his son. The whole topic about whether or not he should make Jonah’s mutation public was a tricky one and it hit far too close to home. His mind flashed briefly back to his own father but he pushed those thoughts aside, his hands on his son grounding him here and now. “I know it’s selfish of me.” Tony admitted quietly with his eyes still on his baby. “I’m in a unique position and powerful enough to make real changes for mutant kind but… Jonah’s my son. I have to put him first. He’s not old enough to deal with the fallout of something like this… no one should ever have to deal with something like this. I don’t understand why human rights don’t apply to mutants. I know this is going to be hard for him when he’s older, but just for now… I want to keep him safe from this. Even if it’s only for a little while. I think he’s earned that with all he’s been through. And when he’s a little older, and a little more prepared to deal with this, I will do my best to change the world for him.” Jonah seemed delighted to be the sole receiver of his father’s attention, his little wings and arms were flapping up and down and Tony gave him a gentle squeeze. Jonah smiled again and Tony could have melted in Jonah’s baby blues.

When Tony did finally look up at Rachel she looked close to tears. Alarmed he turned to Pepper to find her in a similar state. Hoping for some kind of manly comradery he turned to the cameraman only to see him wipe his eyes quickly behind his camera.

Miss Williams cleared her throat. “Well Mr Stark… may I just say you have nothing to apologize for. You are putting your role as Jonah’s father first and I don’t think anyone could fault you for that.” She composed herself quickly, much to Tony’s relief. He really didn’t know what to do when women cried. It was an instant guilt trip laced with extreme awkwardness. “I am a mutant rights supporter myself and I wholeheartedly agree that human rights should relate to mutants as well. It was a mistake to label mutants, as much as it was a mistake to label gays, blacks or any other term people use to separate themselves from each other.”

Tony gave her a relieved smile. “Yeah. Well, shall we get this interview started?”

The rest of the interview passed smoothly. Most of the questions were about Tony’s plans now that he was a father and about his new sobriety. When Rachel left everyone involved felt good about the talk and both Tony and Pepper were hoping for the best. Miss Williams had assured them that she intended to spin the story positively, especially since she still had the exclusive rights, but none of them could control what would happen afterwards. Or how the rest of the country would react to the news.

They had a few hours before Professor Xavier arrived and Jonah was hungry and tired. Tony took care of him while Pepper took care of everything else. When he was finished changing Jonah after his bottle, Tony went in search of Pepper. He’d changed Jonah into a clean set of white overalls, they seemed to work the best with his wings. Jonah was snuggled up to his father’s chest and was quickly falling asleep, his wings were drooping down and every time he closed his eyes they stayed closed for a little bit longer.

Tony rubbed his back gently as he walked. “I know Jonah, I’m tired too.” Tony yawned a little, “But you can sleep for a little bit if you want to.”

“Actually,” Pepper spoke from behind Tony, making him realize that in his tired stupor he had managed to walk right past her, “You should both get some rest. I will have Jarvis wake you when our guests are on the way.”

Tony mumbled something that may have been assent before trudging along to one of the guest rooms. The master suite still wasn’t ready but the workers had assured him they’d be able to finish it all by this evening. For now, Tony curled up around Jonah on the guest bed. He used his arm to help Jonah sleep slightly on his side. Jarvis was watching and the Little Angel Protocol was in full effect so he knew that even in his sleep he wouldn’t accidentally hurt his son.

Being put down on the bed woke Jonah up a little bit and he stared at his father’s face.

“What do you think Angel? Think I’m doing ok so far?” Tony asked while staring into his son’s eyes.

Jonah reached out to touch his Daddy’s face, his eyes were drooping again but he seemed happy to be able to touch his Dad.

“Thanks Jonah. We’ll figure this out. My Little Angel.” They looked into each other’s eyes until they fell asleep.

***

Once more Pepper welcomed guests into Tony’s home. This time however, she forewent the tour and led the three into the living area. Professor Charles Xavier, Doctor Cecilia Reyes and their ‘bodyguard’ Eric Lehnsherr. 

“I have informed Mr Stark of your arrival.” Jarvis announced, startling the guests. Pepper was pretty sure the AI enjoyed startling people. “He will be with you shortly.”

“That was Jarvis. He runs the house.” Pepper explained. “Would you like anything to drink?”

“No thank you.” Charles answered politely for the three. Eric was openly glaring at everything and chose to stand while Dr Reyes and the Professor chose to take a seat together on one of the lounges. “Mr Stark has a lovely home.” He complimented kindly while looking out at the view from the large windows lining the living area.

Dr Reyes nodded. “Yes it is quite spectacular, very different from the mansion.” She had grown a little used to being surrounded by finery having lived in the Xavier mansion for a few years now. Stark’s estate was just as expensive but completely modern. She looked around curiously, amazed by the sheer amount of technology in Tony’s home.

“I grew up in a mansion.” Tony stated as he walked down into the living area, Jonah in his arms, “I like the openness here much better. I am Tony Stark, it’s nice to finally meet you. Thank you for coming all this way on such short notice.” He held Jonah up a little and all three of his guests eyed the boy curiously. Dr Cecilia gasped when she noticed his wings. “This is my son, Jonah Angel Stark. He’s the reason I asked you all here.”

“He’s beautiful, oh look at his little wings! So gorgeous!” Dr Reyes cooed, immediately standing and coming closer.

Unfortunately, her sudden movement startled Jonah and he began to cry and put his face into Tony’s neck. His wings curled in close to his back in what Tony was beginning to recognise as a defensive gesture.

“Hey baby it’s alright,” Tony soothed as Cecilia apologized and backed off. “They’re here to see you, isn’t that exciting?” He glanced over at his guests. “He just woke up and he’s had a really big day.” He explained but Jonah was quickly calming down.

“There is a bottle warmed and prepared in the kitchen.” Jarvis stated calmly.

“Thanks J!” Tony called out to his AI, “Sorry, I’ll be back in a minute.”

“No problem at all, take care of your son.” Charles smiled charmingly.

Tony watched his guests from the kitchenette. Pepper pretty much ignored them but remained close by in case she was needed.

Charles was younger than Tony had been expecting him to be, perhaps even a bit younger then Tony himself, tall and slim with attractive features and eyes almost as blue as Jonah’s. His hair was swept back carelessly and his face was smooth but open and calm. He was wearing a simple brown blazer with cream pants and a white button up shirt underneath. He definitely had a wealthy air about him and it wasn’t hard to tell that like Tony, Charles had come from money. His ‘bodyguard’ on the other hand…

Mr Lehnsherr was hard where Charles was soft. His hair was cropped shorter and while he had brown hair and blue eyes that was where the similarities between the two ended. Eric was taller, broader and in a black turtleneck and slacks he definitely looked meaner. His eyes were hard and cold and his square jaw was set rigidly, his mouth twisting in dissatisfaction. Tony noted that his distaste seemed to be for Tony himself and not for his son, which Tony found immensely relieving.

Dr Cecilia Reyes was warm and caring, she seemed very interested in Jonah but not in an unnerving way. She was tall, African-American and her hair was dark brown with streaks of auburn throughout. Her hair was in styled dreadlocks and tied back behind her head. She was dressed more casually then her two companions, in a light green shirt and jeans, with a white denim jacket over the top. She looked motherly and while her eyes were so dark they were almost black; they were filled with warmth. There was something about her that made Tony want to trust her and in a way he supposed he would have to. She was the best in her field and he needed to know if Jonah was alright, not just on the outside but on the inside too.

As Tony carried Jonah and his bottle back into the living room he noted to himself that they were all really beautiful people. If circumstances were different he’d probably try to hit on one of them… or try his luck with all three… But as tempting as the thought was he easily pushed it aside as he looked down at Jonah. His grumpy little boy had noticed the bottle and started fussing for it right away. Tony settled on a lounge across from his guests and arranged Jonah so that he could feed him easily. Pepper took her place standing behind Tony, mimicking how Eric was standing behind Charles.

Tony smiled a little, although he hid it by fussing with Jonah. In a way Pepper was his bodyguard too, she just protected Tony from his own stupid mistakes rather than the carelessness of others.

Jonah took to his bottle easily and frowned up at Tony cutely while drinking.

“There you go Jonah, is it good?” Tony asked but Jonah just kept up his frown. “Alright, I get it. So good you can’t take a break to even tell me about it.” 

As usual Jonah loved hearing his Daddy talk and he lifted up one of his hands so that he could put a hand on Tony’s face while he was drinking, similarly to what he’d done in the bedroom earlier. Tony wondered if it was his imagination but the more time he spent with Jonah the more he was sure that his baby was smarter than a baby was supposed to be. Of course that could just be because he was Jonah’s Dad, he might not be seeing things entirely clearly.

“What brand of formula are you using?” Dr Cecilia asked, she had pulled out a little notepad and pen from one of her pockets and was taking a few notes.

Jarvis answered her, and then he answered a few of her other questions.

Feeling a little defensive when Cecilia turned back to him Tony shrugged, “I’ve only been doing this for a day and a half. Right now, Jarvis knows more than I do.”

“So, what?” Eric interrupted judgementally. 

“Eric.” Charles cautioned but his bodyguard ignored him.

“You just decide to adopt a mutant baby on a whim and then get your AI to do everything for you?”

Conscious of the child in his arms Tony didn’t react the way he wanted to, instead he let out a calming breath before speaking. “No. I honestly was not expecting to adopt Jonah, that much is true but when I saw him there… and what they were doing to him… I couldn’t leave him behind. I’m an asshole, selfish, egotistical and until yesterday I was an alcoholic playboy. But even I could see that what they were doing was wrong and there was no way I could leave him knowing that there was a chance he would receive the same treatment. Do you know what the odds of a mutant child being adopted and taken into a loving home? Less than a percent. I can’t fix things for the whole of mutant kind, or all the orphaned children but I can help Jonah. So yeah, I don’t know much about parenting yet. And yes I’m taking advantage of the fact that I designed an absolutely brilliant AI and I’m using him to help me. I’d be stupid not to, and I guarantee you a stupid person would not have been able to build Jarvis.”

Silence rang through after Tony’s little rant. He was glaring up at Eric and the bodyguard was meeting Tony glare for glare.

“Thank you Sir. I do try.” Jarvis interrupted, breaking the tension.

Tony huffed out a soft laugh. “You do more than try.” He replied to his AI before turning back to his guests. “Jarvis picks up my slack, I designed him to do so. I intended for him to help with my work mostly but he has since been integrated into my daily life. He maintains the house, reminds me to eat, reminds me to sleep and keeps me safe. His duties now extend to Jonah as well. Jarvis, outline the Little Angel Protocol.”

“Yes Sir.” Jarvis replied promptly, almost sounding proud of himself. “The Little Angel Protocol is a user based protocol centred around the new primary user Jonah Angel Stark. The Little Angel Protocol is my top priority, above even Mr Stark himself. Young Mr Stark’s safety is above all others even Mr Stark’s. Young Mr Stark’s health is above all others, even Mr Stark’s.”

“Thanks J, that’s all for now.”

“Of course Sir.” The AI acknowledged before falling silent once more.

“Wow.” Dr Cecilia let out a breath. “That is really impressive. And don’t worry too much, most new parents flounder at first and they’ve had time to prepare. You’re doing amazingly well considering the circumstances behind the adoption. Would you mind telling us about it? Why did you adopt Jonah?”

Jonah had finished his bottle so Tony picked him up to burp him, he’d placed a towel over his shoulder earlier, having learned his lesson yesterday. “If you look at his wings you’ll notice the damage.”

All three of them looked and their eyes widened in unison as the noticed. It was almost comical but Tony wasn’t paying them any attention as his mind drifted back to the events of the day before.

“Thankfully it’s not as bad as it could have been.” He explained what had happened yesterday in detail, finding Jonah alone in the room. The way the orphanage director had tried to turn Tony away. The fact that they were going to ‘discuss surgical options’ for his wings. When Tony mentioned that last part Eric leant forward on the couch a little with nothing but pure fury on his face. The coffee table in front of them shook slightly. It was a glass table with steel legs and frame.

Charles raised a hand and placed it on top of one of Eric’s above his shoulder. The table stopped moving.

Eric was a mutant but Tony wasn’t really surprised. If he had to bet money on it, he would guess that all three of them were. It wasn’t hard to figure out, someone as powerful as Charles taking in mutant kind and teaching them. Dr Cecilia who was an expert on mutated physiology. Eric who was clearly unhappy that Tony had adopted a mutant child.

“You’re right.” Charles answered Tony even though Tony had not spoken. “We are all mutants. Eric can manipulate metal with his mind, Cecilia can use kinetic energy to shield herself subconsciously and I am a telepath.”

“So you were reading my mind just then?” Tony asked, not offended, just curious. Technically all three of them had already signed confidentiality agreements and the agreements themselves were really thorough. They easily covered secrets gleaned from his mind as well as any other means.

“Yes.” Charles nodded and sat a little taller in his seat, pulling his hand down to rest it in his lap. “I founded the school with the intention of giving mutant kind somewhere they could educate themselves and learn to control their abilities without fear of scorn, and without hurting themselves or others.”

“Admirable.” Tony complimented.

“Thank you. I agreed to come here today because I was able to… sense… that you had a mutant in your home. I assumed that you were calling me for that reason.”

Tony nodded. “Yes. I need to make sure I’m doing the best I can for him, I’m not sure if he’s different on the inside as well as the outside and I need to make sure that I care for him properly. Does he have any special dietary needs? What can I do to help care for his wings? Is he healthy now? Jarvis’s scans showed that he is underweight for his age, do I need to worry?”

“Well, why don’t we have a look at Stark Jr and see?” Dr Cecilia suggested. “May I see the scans your AI has taken?” Jarvis brought up the scans on the large seventy odd inch TV in the lounge room. “Marvellous!” She complimented while she looked over the information. “Everything seems to be in order, I’d like to get a blood sample for a more thorough scan though. We need to know what vaccinations he’s had as well as if there’s anything unusual going on inside him. I’ve brought the equipment I need; I’d also like to give him a once over just to check everything else.”

Jonah was calm and happy so it was as good a time as any to give him his check-up. Tony stood with the Dr and prepared to hand Jonah over as she got closer. He didn’t really want to but he would be with Dr Reyes the entire time, nothing bad was going to happen. At least that’s what he thought until Dr Reyes came closer and Jonah started to cry again.

Jonah cried louder the closer Dr Reyes came and he curled into Tony with his little wings curling up against his back as tightly as they could.

“Hey baby it’s alright.” Tony tried to comfort his son. “I’m here nothing’s going to happen. Just a little check-up and you’ll be fine.”

“If you don’t mind,” Charles interrupted, standing as well and stopping Cecilia with a hand on her arm. “Maybe I could check and see what the problem is?” He asked, tapping a finger against his temple to show what he meant.

Tony frowned slightly as he tried to comfort his baby by running and hand down his wings. “Will it hurt him?”

Charles raised an eyebrow. “Did it hurt you?”

That was a surprisingly good point, Tony thought to himself. He hadn’t even noticed the Professor rummaging around in his mind. “Alright.” Tony nodded his assent, giving a brief thought to how much easier parenting would be if he could read minds. Then he discarded the thought when he thought about the teenaged years. Yeah… it would be convenient but there were some thoughts he probably didn’t want to know.

Charles chuckled. “Indeed.” He agreed with Tony’s train of thinking before turning his concentration to the baby in Tony’s arms. “Bear with me, babies think in feelings and ideas rather than worded thoughts like adults. This is not the first time I’ve done this.” He assured as he looked at Jonah.

Jonah stopped crying. His eyes widened and his head snapped around to look unerringly at Charles.

The telepath gave an incredulous huff, “Incredible. He knows I am in his mind. He can sense me.” He informed the group, astonished. “Give me a moment…” Charles concentrated as the others looked on, he probed deeper into Jonah’s mind. It seemed to be going smoothly at first, but then something in his expression shattered. His eyes went wide and his mouth opened in a horrified gasp. “Oh god…” He whispered, caught in the babe’s mind. “The pain…” Charles fell to his knees.

“Charles!” Eric called as he rushed to his friend’s side. “Get out of his mind, if it’s hurting you get out now!” But Charles wasn’t listening.

The Professor’s eyes were on Jonah’s. The baby looked calm as tears started to stream down Charles’s face. “All he has known is pain.” Charles said quietly, apparently unaware of what was happening around him. “He doesn’t want anyone else to touch him but Tony. Tony stopped the pain. He’s afraid of everyone but Tony.” Charles gasped again but this time he broke the connection and looked away from the baby. He groaned a little and shook his head, clearly disoriented. “His mind… is unlike anything I have ever seen.” Eric helped him up but Charles quickly shook him off. “It’s alright, I’m alright.” The young Professor assured as he stood on his own.

“What just happened?” Demanded Pepper, worried about the affect this would have on Jonah and Tony.

Tony was speechless as Jonah curled up once more with his head against Tony’s neck and his wings close to his back. He was quiet though and Tony started to stroke his wings again without thinking.

“I am sorry; his thoughts were just a little overwhelming. I wasn’t expecting it and so I was unprepared.” Charles explained, quickly regaining his composure.

“What exactly did you… see?” Tony asked, still shocked by what had happened.

Charles hesitated for a moment, wondering how much he should tell the young father. But seeing only concern on Tony’s face he couldn’t hide what he’d learned. “Pain. Jonah has… He has known great and unending pain. It was all he knew before you came in to him. He saw you and when you touched him... you helped him and you took away his pain. Tony… Jonah worships you. I think it’s safe to say that as much as you chose Jonah to be your son, he’s chosen you to be his father.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm using young Charles and young Eric because they will both be 'romance options' in the later stories :P


	6. PRACTICE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I have never tried to upload an image this way so we'll see if this works. Prolly won't. I'm not a great artist anyway so if it doesn't work and you don't get the pic well you're not missing out on much :P
> 
> Real chapter will be up in a day or two.

Tony and Jonah Stark :) 

[](http://s1255.photobucket.com/user/sumChick42/media/babyAndDad_zpsqh85zi9w.jpg.html)


	7. Contagious Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “That’s right baby. It’s you and me against the world now isn’t it? I’ve got you Jonah, I promise. I’m not the best person but you can bet your wings I’m going to be the best damned Dad for you.” Tony was smiling more genuinely now and while Jonah wasn’t smiling, he had put his bottom lip away.

Completely shattered. They were the only two words that came close to describing the expression on Tony’s face when Charles divulged what he had seen in Jonah’s mind. It took him a few minutes to remember how to breathe. His breath shuddered when he finally did manage to drag air into his lungs and he barely registered anyone around him as he looked down at his son. 

Jonah, his innocent little baby boy. He’d only met him a few days ago and already Tony couldn’t imagine ever giving him up. Nor could he even fathom how someone could hurt something so precious. It was too much and right now there were too many people here. He needed them gone and he needed to… He held his son a little closer. Jonah flapped his wings happily, not really understanding but appreciating the cuddles nevertheless.

“You… I…” Tony started, trying to find his composure, trying to remember that he was a Stark and he could hold it together… even now. But he couldn’t. Not with this. He wasn’t that inhuman.

“We’ll leave for now.” Interrupted Charles. Whether it was because of what he’d seen in Jonah’s mind or what he was reading from Tony now, the older Stark didn’t know. “We will be in town for a few days and you can call us to reschedule.”

Tony nodded and cleared his throat. “Yes, thank you, I think that would be for the best. Pepper will see you out.” He managed to force out, surprising himself when he didn’t stutter over his words. He didn’t know how to act right now and he didn’t know what he sounded like, all he knew was that he was very NOT OK. And he needed everyone else gone… everyone but Jonah. 

Pepper came back to Tony, “Do you need anything?” She asked gently. Tony was incredibly grateful when she didn’t come any closer, now knowing what Jonah thought of other people Tony didn’t want anyone coming too close.

“No, thank you. You should go and I’ll see you tomorrow.” It wasn’t the politest dismissal but Tony could barely think straight let alone try to come up with a polite way to tell someone to ‘go away’.

Pepper hesitated for a moment, she almost took a step closer to Tony but then her eyes fell to Jonah. Her heart broke a little. A baby should never know fear. “Alright. If you need me, just have Jarvis call.” She looked up, “Jarvis, take care of them.”

“Always Miss Potts.” Jarvis answered quietly and Pepper left without another word. “Sir? You are now alone with your son.” The AI informed its creator.

All the breath left Tony’s lungs in a long exhale as he sat back down numbly with Jonah still in his arms. Jonah was settled now but completely silent. Tony held him close. Comforting him absently by stroking his back as the reality of what he’d learned sunk in. Jonah had known only pain. Could his wings have hurt him that badly?

Tony wasn’t stupid, he was a genius. That woman, the director who’d been responsible for Jonah’s injuries, she hadn’t seemed the type to hurt a child. She’d truly believed that hiding Jonah’s wings had been what was best for the babe. So then, what about before? Where had Jonah come from? Could someone have hurt him before? Was it Jonah’s biological parents? Where were they? Did they abandon Jonah because of his wings or was it something even worse than that?

“Jarvis-” When his voice cracked while speaking Tony noticed that there were tears in his eyes. Stark men aren’t weak. But even Tony couldn’t stop the hurt at what he’d learned. “Find out as much as you can about Jonah’s past. Find out who his biological parents are. Look everywhere. I want to know who-who did this and…” His voice broke and Tony couldn’t talk anymore. Tony tried but he couldn’t hold it back. For the first time in his adult life Tony cried.

It was just too much, and just too real. He’d seen horrible stories on the news. He’d heard about horrible things happening and supported many charities to prevent it. Wasn’t that the Stark way? Throwing money at a problem and hoping it would go away? Isn’t that what Howard had done with Tony?

But now it was here and it was real and it wasn’t just a news story… it was curled up in his arms. His son who he’d only known for three days. Jonah was real and warm and alive… and so very innocent, so trusting of Tony. Jonah had trusted someone else once, he’d come into this world trusting and someone had broken that trust. Someone had hurt the baby so much that even as young as he was, Jonah knew enough to fear. Tony could give Jonah everything in the world but he couldn’t take back the past. He couldn’t save Jonah from what had already happened and it hurt. Jonah was so tiny, so fragile and Tony just didn’t understand.

As much as he couldn’t hold it back, it felt as though every sob was torn from him. Jonah was a soft and pliant thing in his arms, not moving much just being held while Tony wept for him. His whole body shook with the force of it and he just couldn’t hold it in. It was ice breathing in and jagged metal tearing its way out through his exhales. It was ugly sobbing that he would never admit to anyone else but would never deny his son. Jonah trusted him and Tony hadn’t realized how precious that trust was until this moment.

Tony vowed he would always be worthy of that trust.

Jonah started to cry, it wasn’t really heavy, just little sobs that signalled that he was unhappy.

Tony pulled Jonah away from himself so that he could look his little bundle in the eyes. 

Jonah looked up at Tony with his face all scrunched up and his bottom lip stuck out and trembling. His face scrunched up further and he made a little crying ‘moo’ noise before looking back up at Tony. Fat tears were already rolling down his chubby cheeks and he looked like he could burst into sobs at any moment.

Tony really didn’t feel like smiling but he forced himself to through his tears. “Hey, hey now Jonah, it’s alright. I’m not sad see?” His tone wasn’t very convincing and he still had fresh tears on his face but he pressed on anyway. “See? Daddy’s fine. I’m not crying because I’m sad, I’m crying because I’m happy. I’m so happy I have you baby, so happy to have you.”

Jonah settled a little but his bottom lip was still stubbornly stuck out. He reached out a hand and put it on his Daddy’s face, his little wings drooping forlornly.

“That’s right baby. It’s you and me against the world now isn’t it? I’ve got you Jonah, I promise. I’m not the best person but you can bet your wings I’m going to be the best damned Dad for you.” Tony was smiling more genuinely now and while Jonah wasn’t smiling, he had put his bottom lip away.

“Sir?” Jarvis intoned quietly, almost as though he were afraid of intruding.

“Yeah J?”

“The Little Angel Protocol is in full effect.”

Tony blinked, confused. “Yes? I am aware?” Each of his statements ending as questions.

“You have programmed me to protect Jonah Angel Stark, and within my programming are instructions to take action against those who might do Jonah harm, even if it would lead to harm for those individuals. Young Sir has been emotionally as well as physically harmed in the past, shall I extend my programming parameters to include those who have already harmed Young Sir as well?”

Tony inhaled quickly, gasping as the full implications of Jarvis’s question sunk in. His AI was asking him permission… to hurt someone. Jarvis wasn’t just a creation to Tony, he never had been. Jarvis was… his friend, his child, his caregiver, and most importantly, Jarvis was his own person. There were certain limitations to his programming but Tony had always taken great pride in the fact that Jarvis could make his own decisions. “Do you want to?” Tony asked instead of answering straight away. Tony could order Jarvis to do it, and there was a part of Tony that screamed out that he should. That the people who hurt Jonah had to pay but… He wouldn’t use Jarvis to do it, not if the AI didn’t want to.

Jarvis was silent for a few incredibly long moments; it was seconds for Tony but with Jarvis’s capabilities he likely had the time to run several thousand scenarios before he answered. “Yes Sir. Jonah is my ‘little brother’. You have always been a ‘father’ to me, my creator. Jonah is in your care, and so in my care. I… do not like that he has been hurt.” Jarvis sounded almost troubled by his conclusions.

Tony hummed. “You caught feelings. I warned you J, they’re contagious!”

“Sir.” Tony had no idea how his AI could pack so much reproof into a single word. He must have been talking with Pepper.

“Yes J, you have my permission to take any action you see fit against any who have harmed or will harm Jonah Angel Stark.” Tony wasn’t entirely sure if he was doing the right thing but he wanted whoever hurt Jonah to pay, and it sounded like his AI did too.

Jarvis was silent for a moment, then, “New parameters added to the Little Angel Protocol.”

Tony smiled with a huff and looked down at Jonah. “I told you he cares.”

***

“Sir?”

Tony woke with a small startle, careful of Jonah who was on his chest. He blinked blearily and looked around. He was still in the living room, lying back on the couch. The TV in the background was playing ‘The Little Mermaid’ on repeat and Jonah was sound asleep on his chest. He looked down at Jonah for a little bit, just watching how innocent Jonah looked while he was asleep. His face was completely relaxed, his mouth was open slightly and Tony could feel little puffs of air against his chest ever time Jonah breathed. He was bracketed carefully by Tony’s arms and Tony’s hands were resting lightly on his back. Jonah’s wings were stretched out across Tony’s arms. The feathers were slightly tickly but very soft.

Tony didn’t remember falling asleep but both he and Jonah had a big day yesterday. Tony remembered taking care of Jonah and putting on a movie for them to watch, Jonah seemed to like the colours but he enjoyed watching and playing with his Daddy more. They must have fallen asleep that way. Which was a shame because the room had been finished and Tony had been so excited to try everything out. He’d have to show it to Jonah today.

“Morning J.” Tony mumbled quietly, yawning and rubbing at his face with one hand. “What time is it?”

“Three past eight in the morning.” Jarvis was being quiet too. “I thought you might like to watch this Sir.” The TV channel changed and Tony turned his head to watch.

One of the numerous morning news shows was playing, this morning’s top story seemed to be Tony’s adoption of Jonah. No real surprises there. Tony smiled when he saw the photos of Jonah that had been taken just yesterday. Jonah in his cute little outfit. He listened intently but the story was written well and it was light and encouraging of a new Dad and his adopted son. The news presenters speculated a bit about whether or not Tony was responsible enough to be a parent, Tony had been expecting that, but there were photos of his room being changed. There were also photos of the empty bars.

The feedback seemed mostly positive and the story was trending. Tony felt a little flutter of nerves. Well… there’d be no hiding this whole thing from Obadiah now. At least with this hitting the public before Obadiah finding out it meant that Stark Industries would take a huge dive in the stocks if Tony was suddenly ‘not’ a parent anymore. Which meant that keeping Jonah was in SI’s best interests and thus in Obi’s favour. Tony didn’t need Obi’s approval for this or anything else, he was his own person… but there was a part of him that wanted Obi’s approval. Admittedly he didn’t need Obi as much as he used to but they were still close.

“I’m not convinced this isn’t some kind of popularity stunt.” The snooty female anchor on TV announced.

“I don’t know. Stark was already pretty popular, right ladies?” Her male co-host waggled his eyebrows to the cheering from the female members of the audience. “I think it might be genuine. I mean look at that smile.” 

A photo came up on screen and Tony remembered the moment. In the photo Jonah was on Tony’s lap with one of his tiny hands on Tony’s face and Tony was smiling widely down at him. Jonah had a cute smile as well. They looked… right together.

“That doesn’t seem fake to me.” The male anchor continued. “From one father to another, Stark if you’re watching this, good luck with fatherhood. You’re going to need it.”

Jonah began to stir on Tony’s chest. “Mute it J. If there are any threats or anything let me know, just screen it like usual.”

“Yes Sir.” Tony already had a system for dealing with the press and the fallout from interviews. If it wasn’t a threat – ignore it. If it was a threat, assess how serious the threat was and then take appropriate action.

Tony was sure that with the new protocol Jarvis would be more than capable of handling any threats aimed at Jonah. With the alterations to the protocol they’d made last night, Jarvis would be able to take matters into his own hands if the AI felt that Jonah was threatened.

Tony trusted Jarvis not to abuse his power.

Jonah scrunched up his face unhappily as he woke up. His wings stretched up and out and he made little unhappy noises.

“Are your wings hurting again?” Tony asked softly, “Here, let Daddy help.” He’d have to go get the moisturizer in a minute but for the time being he just stroked Jonah’s wings with one hand. He frowned a little at the odd texture and looked down to see that in the little bare patches, there were little waxy shoots spiking out of the skin. “Jarvis? Do you see this?”

“Yes Sir, they appear to be ‘pin feathers’, new feathers at the beginning stages of growth.”

Jonah fussed a little and kept moving his wings like he didn’t know what to do with them. He seemed to be uncomfortable.

“Do they hurt? What else can you tell me about them?”

“The waxy coating around the pin feather is a keratin sheath attached to the skin and can be sensitive to touch.” Tony lifted his hand off of Jonah’s wings quickly. “When the feathers fully mature, birds will preen themselves and break the coating away, allowing the feathers to unfurl. All this information is, of course, from bird informative and care websites.”

“Right, Jonah won’t be able to ‘preen’ but apart from that this is good, this means he’s getting his feathers back. Should I keep up the moisturizing?”

Jarvis was silent for a moment. “Unknown. There is no information that I can find that relates to this matter.”

“Alright then, guess we’re forging into new territory then.”

“It would seem so Sir.”

Tony lifted Jonah up as he stood and stretched for a moment. Jonah was still fussing and his wings were still moving in an agitated fashion. “Let’s try the moisturizer.” He decided after watching Jonah fuss. And so their day started with Jonah being fussy and Tony trying to help. So far it was the most exhausting morning he’d spent with his son but Jonah just wouldn’t calm down. The lotion on his wings did seem to help but apart from that the cute little appendages really seemed to be bothering him. Tony tried to show Jonah his new room but Jonah didn’t want anything to do with it in his cranky mood. The only thing he seemed to want was his Daddy.

By lunch time Tony was about ready to pull out his hair and Jonah was still upset. “You know how people said parenting was hard?... I get it.” He grumbled quietly. He’d almost lost his temper a few times but he had Jarvis who was constantly reassuring him that he was doing the right thing. That this was normal for parents to experience. That Tony wasn’t failing. His AI was really stepping up and Tony wasn’t sure how he’d manage all of this without Jarvis.

Pepper came back at about lunch time and congratulated him on the interview and its success. Jonah didn’t seem to care much about her but then, she never tried to hold him. Pepper wasn’t really a ‘mummy’ sort of woman. She had always thought kids were cute but she never wanted any of her own.

“Mr Stane is, of course, now aware of Jonah. He is currently overseas but I expect he will cut his trip short and be back to see you in a few days.” Pepper informed Tony. She then gave him a brief update about the status of his company, although he’d managed to buy himself a few days free of board meetings due to his recent adoption.

“Yeah, great, none of that’s important. Pepper look!” Tony showed off Jonah’s wings. Jonah was still a little sniffy but he seemed happy enough as long as Tony was holding him. Tummy time had been a big no-no today. “Pin feathers!”

Pepper blinked. “Pin what?”

“It’s the little spiky things, they’re pin feathers! He’s getting his feathers back!” As tired as Tony was, and as demanding as Jonah had been today, it was all worth it knowing that his wings were healing. 

“Oh that’s wonderful Tony.” Pepper smiled, genuinely happy that Jonah was getting better.

Tony gave her a grin and Jonah gave her a grumble. “Yeah, I think we’re gonna be able to do this family thing.” Tony said to Jonah, bouncing the baby a little higher on his hip. It had been an incredibly long day and his back was hurting from carrying Jonah everywhere and he smelled a lot like off formula but… It was also strangely fulfilling. Jonah was getting what he needed and if Tony wasn’t willing to put up with a grumpy day with his boy then he probably wouldn’t be a very good parent. 

And he’d promised Jonah hadn’t he?

Tony may not be the best person, but he would be the best Dad, for Jonah.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eh, it's not the best chapter, we only have a few more baby Jonah chapters to go I think, then we'll stark heading towards growing up and Iron Man 1 :P
> 
> Also Jonah is about 6 months old, in the pic I drew he looks a little older but that's just coz I'm no good at drawing babies :P


	8. a bit more amazing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hey baby, all smiles today huh?” Tony said as he picked up his now ecstatic baby. There didn’t seem to be anything Jonah loved more than Daddy cuddles. Tony turned to his surrogate father and held his son up proudly. “Obie, I would like you to meet Jonah Angel Stark, my son and heir. Jonah, this is your Granddaddy, Obie.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! I never really went anywhere though. I mean I've been in my living room pretty much this entire time :P
> 
> But I'm updating again so yay! My internet's not working well so I don't even know if this will upload properly. Not so yay...
> 
> If I don't reply to your comments that would be why. Crappy internet. There was meant to be another pic but I can't get it up with such a slow connection.

Three days after their initial visit, Charles, Eric and Cecilia made their way back to the Stark estate at the request of Miss Potts.

When they reached the estate, Miss Potts was waiting to greet them at the end of the drive. They got out of the car and she quickly led them inside.

“I apologize for the delay.” She told them as she escorted them through the house. She didn’t offer any excuses or explanations but Charles knew why Tony had not called them sooner.

He couldn’t help but smile. “No problem at all.”

They all heard Tony before they saw him.

“Woah! Look at you!” Tony exclaimed loudly, followed by what sounded like a rough approximation of a plane engine. “Weeeoooaaarrrr!!! So high up! So high above your Daddy!” They entered the lounge to see Tony, holding Jonah high above his head with his hands steady around Jonah’s middle. Jonah looked absolutely delighted. He was flapping his little wings and kicking his little legs enthusiastically while smiling widely down at his Dad. Tony made another plane noise and move his arms side to side and Jonah smiled for all he was worth. His wings were beating so hard that the group could see the way the little puffs of air blew Tony’s hair out of his face.

“Well someone is looking much better.” Commented Charles after watching the scene for a few moments. He was picking up nothing but happy thoughts from both father and son, although he was only reading surface thoughts. It did seem as though the two of them were doing well after the last visit.

Tony lowered Jonah, holding his boy to his chest with a big grin on his face. “Don’t his wings look amazing? It was a tough couple of days but look at him now.” Tony turned back to Jonah and lifted him up so that they were eye-to-eye. “All healed, aren’t we baby?”

Jonah favoured his father with another of his adorable smiles. His little wings kicking up such a strong wind that even the others could feel it. Looking at his wings the others could see how much better, and how much bigger, they looked. With all of his feathers healed and fluffy, his wings looked almost twice the size they had been a few days ago.

“Woah there baby, don’t take off on me. Not yet.” He pulled Jonah back down but the little guy was still happily beating his wings. “We’ll work on flying when you’re a little bit older. Not sure I can baby proof flying but I’ll try to figure it out.” Jonah just kept flapping and Tony giggled as he turned back to the Charles, Cecilia, Eric and Pepper. “What do you think? Does the windswept look suit me? Something tells me I should get used to it.” But his smile belied his words. He was really, genuinely happy. He’d enjoyed things before Jonah but Tony couldn’t think of a time when he’d experienced happiness like his little boy had brought him. Fatherhood completed him.

“You both look great.” Charles assured warmly. “Jonah is feeling much better now, but I believe he is still nervous about our being here.”

“Hm.” Tony agreed. “I don’t want to push him too much just yet; I want him to have a chance to feel secure first you know? So I was thinking that Dr Reyes could run her tests and I could hold Jonah while she does it? Does that work for you?”

Cecilia nodded with bright eyes. She had a medical briefcase in her hands. “Of course Mr Stark. We can proceed however would be most comfortable for you and your son.” She stepped closer but didn’t reach out to Jonah at all. “His colour is healthy and he seems to have put on a little weight, which is brilliant, and his wings are astounding. They look completely healed.” She asked a few more questions while she prepared her kit on the table. 

Charles took a seat on the lounge in front of the coffee table but both Pepper and Eric chose, once more, to stand. 

Most of the examination passed without a hitch. Jonah didn’t even seem bothered by the light being shone in his eyes or the tape measure around his head. “Wow, aren’t you a healthy little one?” Cooed Cecilia.

“Great!” Tony enthused, holding Jonah back to his chest.

“Bbbbb!” Jonah added for good measure.

“There was something, about the data I received from Jarvis, how accurate are your AI’s scans?” Cecilia took a seat next to Charles and Tony sat across from them, mirroring the seating from their first meeting.

“My scans are accurate down to a hundredth of a percent, Dr Reyes.” Jarvis answered promptly. He didn’t sound ‘offended’ exactly but somehow his monotone voice conveyed his slight affront at the question of his abilities.

“He’s right.” Tony assured. “Jonah’s top priority, there’s no way he’d mess up something there.”

“Perhaps you shouldn’t trust a machine to raise your son.” Eric muttered darkly.

“Perhaps you shouldn’t judge Sir before you know him.” Jarvis replied curtly and the television turned on. The screen was divided into four separate video feeds, all of them were of Tony taking care of Jonah. Some of the more playful moments as well as some of Jonah’s more difficult moments. “I provide advice, and minor assistance. My duties are not much different than they were before Young Sir entered Sir’s life. Sir has changed his lifestyle entirely to accommodate Young Sir and his new role as a father.”

“Awww.” Dr Cecilia cooed at a cute video of Jonah playing. 

“Well it certainly looks like you’ve got everything covered.” Charles commented with a pointedly raised eyebrow at Eric. The darker man just crossed his arms.

“Thanks J. You can turn these off though, watching myself is kind of weird.”

Jarvis obligingly shut off the screen.

Eric was still looking as grumpy and dark as ever, Tony wondered if his wardrobe was full of ten sets of the same black outfit.

Charles giggled but tried to hide it behind a cough. “Yes actually, it is.”

Tony grinned. “Knew it.”

Cecilia smiled and looked a little lost and Pepper was focusing on something on her phone. Eric maintained his glare but Tony was starting to realize that it was the darkly dressed man’s default expression.

“Well,” Dr Reyes started. “What I was trying to say is that judging by Jonah’s appearance he shouldn’t be the weight Jarvis recorded. Babies that are that underweight will be visibly thin. You’d be able to see their bones through their skin, their eyes may even be slightly sunken, and lots of other little tells, but Jonah looks healthy and has this entire time.”

“Ok, but I have faith in Jarvis. I know his scans aren’t wrong.” Tony frowned.

“I’m not saying they are.” Cecilia assured, “I was wondering though, does Jarvis have a, um, ‘function’ that could be used as a bone density scanner?”

“Uh… yes?” Tony answered. “I guess? I use a density scanner in the workshop.”

“If it’s not too much trouble could you have Jarvis scan Jonah? I just have a hunch about something.” Cecilia explained at Tony’s odd look.

Tony gave Jarvis the go ahead but now that Dr Reyes had mentioned the scanner he was clueing in to what she was getting at.

“Scan complete.” Jarvis intoned after a few seconds before displaying the information on the television screen.

“A hollow skeleton.” Tony whispered before any of the others had a chance. “Like a bird’s…”

“Yes, but notice, here, and here,” Cecilia pointed out certain areas in the scan. “Though lighter it doesn’t seem to be too much weaker. Although as he gets older you should be wary of broken bones.” She hummed as she studied the scan. “Just make sure he grows up mindful of falls but I don’t think it’s too bad actually. It seems to be part of his mutation rather than a genetic default like Vrolik Disease.”

“Wow.” Tony was blown away. “Just… wow… so he’s not underweight… exactly?”

“No, not at all.” Dr Reyes smiled. “It would seem that Jonah is the perfect weight for his age, it was the lightness of his skeletal structure that threw off the initial measurements.”

Tony let out a long, relieved breath. “That’s great, that’s amazing, I just… thank you.”

“Just doing my job Mr Stark. Now onto the unpleasant stuff – vaccinations.” She intoned in mock horror as she prepared what she needed. “Nothing too major, but I’ve reviewed his medical file and he hasn’t had any shots yet.”

“What does he need?”

Cecilia explained the shots and why Jonah would need them. “Either way it will be two little pricks in the meat of his thighs and then it will be over. He won’t like it, but I’ll be quick and it will be over in a minute or two.”

Tony stripped Jonah down to his nappy and held him, ready for his shots. He wasn’t looking forward to it but it had to be done.

Cecilia approached with the needle, the other was ready on the table, Jonah was fine up until the first prick of the needle. As much as Tony had tried to he’d been unprepared for the sudden strength of motion as Jonah flapped and pulled his legs and arms away from the ‘threat’. Jonah screamed and the needle slipped out, the tip scratching a short red line against his skin as he struggled.

“Oh darn!” Dr Reyes hissed. “I’m so sorry.”

“No, no, I didn’t keep him still.” Tony tried to soothe Jonah while simultaneously trying to assess the damage. Pepper handed him an antibacterial wipe and at a nod from Dr Reyes Tony cleaned up the small line of blood to find… nothing but clean skin. “What? Wasn’t there-?”

“Oh my!” Dr Reyes exclaimed as she looked at the completely clear spot on Jonah’s leg. The babe himself was calming down and Tony was reassuring him by stroking his wings, although he too was staring at Jonah’s leg. “It would seem that Jonah has a healing factor.” She concluded. “Quite an advanced one too by the looks of it.” She looked down at the needles. “Well, for now, we won’t bother with the injections. I need to know how advanced his healing factor is before we proceed any further. To do that though, we’ll need a blood sample.”

“A healing factor?” Tony repeated as he looked back down at Jonah. “Wow, you are one special little guy.”

“It’s probably his body’s natural way of coping with his weaker bone structure.” Dr Reyes was cleaning up her mess and drawing out a funny little sample container and needle. “Just a prick of his heel, I only need a drop.”

The heel prick went much smoother and was over quickly. Jonah’s foot healed faster than the blood could be wiped away and he barely fussed at all.

“That’s amazing.” Tony breathed out. “How do you keep getting more amazing baby? There should be a limit somewhere.” Tony joked down at his son.

“Bbbbbbbb!” Jonah babbled forcefully with a little frown.

“Exactly!” Tony agreed while putting Jonah’s pants back on. He was wearing some long feetie pants and a long sleeved shirt that was tailored to fit Jonah’s wings. From the front it looked normal enough and it had clipping buttons up the back, it opened at Jonah’s wings and clipped up around his neck as well. Tony had a whole slew of shirts made to his specifications and delivered over the past few days. He was no designer but they were practical. It helped that Jonah looked adorable in everything.

“If it would help, I know of a few other mutants with healing factors. If you would like to talk to one of them I can arrange a visit.” Charles informed politely.

Tony looked at Charles briefly but as usual his eyes were drawn back to Jonah. “That would be helpful, right now I can only think of benefits to a healing factor but I’m guessing it wouldn’t be all sunshine and roses would it?”

“Not always, no. I’ll have Logan, one of our instructors, visit you when he can. He has one of the most advanced healing factors I have encountered.”

“Sounds good.” Tony agreed. “See little guy? You’re just making new friends all over the place.”

Eric crossed his arms. “I don’t know if Logan does plebeian things like ‘make friends’.” 

Charles chuckled. “Don’t mind Eric, Logan just has a bit of an attitude about certain things.”

“About everything.” Grumbled Eric before he fell back into his brooding silence.

“Ah.” Pepper suddenly piped up and the entire group turned to her, with the exception of Jonah who was staring up at his dad. “Mr Stane is on his way back now. He’ll be in the country tonight so you will likely see him tomorrow.”

Tony grimaced and a flood of emotions quickly swirled through him before he forced himself to settle down. His relationship with his surrogate father was a complex one, but Tony wanted Obie to be alright with this. Tony wanted Obie to be a grandfather to his son. “I see. Thank you Pe’eerrr.” Tony suddenly had a baby hand in his mouth and looking down he saw that Jonah was smiling brightly.

“As’ mah mouff!” (That’s my mouth!) Tony spoke around the little appendage.

Jonah smiled wider with what could almost be laughter dancing in his eyes. “Bbbbbbbaaaaa…. Bbbbbb….” He babbled happily before pulling his hand out himself and going to shove it in his own mouth.

“Ah no, let’s give that a wipe first huh?” Pepper handed him another wipe and he thanked her before cleaning up Jonah’s hand. He wondered if germs would actually be a problem now or not? He decided to play it safe until he got the results back from the blood tests.

Cecilia snapped her briefcase shut with a little ‘click’. “Right well I’m finished here. Do you have any questions or additional concerns?” The doctor asked Tony.

“Nope. Not at the moment, can I call you if I think of anything?”

“Of course.” Dr Reyes assured warmly.

“I guess then, that it is time for us to take our leave.” Charles stood up and straightened his blazer.

“So we’re just leaving then?” Eric muttered. “Abandoning another mutant child to his fate.”

Charles rolled his eyes. “Eric, you can’t seriously think I would take a child from a loving home, can you?”

Eric just glared some more but remained silent.

Tony stood as well and held his free hand out to Cecilia first, who shook it, and then to Charles. “Thank you for coming and being great about everything. I know this isn’t going to be easy but you can read my mind right? You know I’m going to do right by Jonah.”

Charles nodded and took Tony’s hand. “I have every faith in you as a father Mr Stark. Jonah is in good hands.”

Tony grinned. “Also, your school will be receiving a large, anonymous, donation of the latest Stark brand computers, phones and medical equipment. I trust you’ll put it into good use.”

“Oh, you don’t need to-” Charles started but Pepper interrupted.

“Too late. They are already packed and shipped.” She spoke but her attention was still on her phone.

“I know you have money Professor,” Tony explained, “But I have tech and lots of it. If there’s anything you need please don’t hesitate to let me know, think of it as an investment into my son’s future education.”

Charles blinked then smiled, “Thank you Mr Stark.” He replied genuinely. “So _anything_ I need? I don’t suppose you have a spare jet? And how are you with holograms?”

After discussing some upgrades that Charles desired for the school the three left about an hour later. Charles had the money to accomplish the tasks but Tony had the knowhow. Tony grinned to himself once everyone had left. Upgrading an Orphanage and a School? This was going to be fun. They were going to get the best Stark technology on the market and then some.

***

It was a little after ten in the morning when Obadiah finally came to see Tony. Tony had been worrying about it all morning but thankfully Jonah was in an exceptionally good mood now that his wings were better. It was easy for Tony to lose himself in the distraction that was his son. He was just reviewing some schematics he’d put together, he wanted to make a baby safe area in his workshop so that he could work and watch Jonah at the same time, when Jarvis informed him that Obie was at the door.

He startled, almost dropping the tablet he’d been working on and Jonah looked up at him from the floor.

“Auuummmaaaa,” Jonah was chewing on his favourite teething ring again, enjoying some tummy time on the floor. 

“Yeah J, let him in.” Tony told his AI as he knelt down to sit with Jonah. This was it, moment of truth time. “Ready to meet someone new?”

Jonah kicked his little legs but apart from that seemed more interested in his toy than whatever else was happening.

“Alright then.” Tony let out a breath and stood up just as Obie walked into the living room. “Hey, you’re back early.” Tony greeted the older man with a smile and walked forward for a hug.

Obadiah laughed warmly, “Is it any wonder? I leave the country for a few days and you manage to find trouble.” They embraced briefly and parted, “Alright then, where is the little tyke I’ve been hearing about.”

“Just on the floor over here, he’s having some ‘tummy time’.” Tony explained and led Obadiah over to Jonah.

“And why did I have to hear this on the news? I-?” But Obie cut short when he finally caught sight of Jonah.

Little Jonah was happily flapping his wings and kicking his legs because Tony had come back within sight. He managed to get up on his elbows a little and give Tony a smile as he knelt down.

“Hey baby, all smiles today huh?” Tony said as he picked up his now ecstatic baby. There didn’t seem to be anything Jonah loved more than Daddy cuddles. Tony turned to his surrogate father and held his son up proudly. “Obie, I would like you to meet Jonah Angel Stark, my son and heir. Jonah, this is your Granddaddy, Obie.”

“Hey now, I’m too young to be a Granddaddy!” Obadiah remarked jokingly, but his eyes lingered on Jonah’s wings. There was something unreadable in Obadiah’s eyes and it made Tony feel uncomfortable. Tony held Jonah a little closer. “Well look at you.” Obie continued. “There was nothing about,” He gestured at the wings, “That, on the news.”

Tony looked down at Jonah and then back up at Obie. “I made a deal with a reporter, she gets exclusives and I get final say on the content.”

“Smart. As… cute as Jonah is, this is something that shouldn’t get out.” Obie laughed, “Wouldn’t want Stark Industries to suffer because of the ‘next heir’ now would we? We’d take a hit to the stocks for sure if the world found out about Jonah’s… condition.”

Something cold like ice settled in Tony’s chest at Obie’s words. “Of course.” He agreed almost by rote. Obie always put SI first. It was just his way. Tony tried not to be offended on Jonah’s behalf but he couldn’t help the way it rankled. “Right… well… I’d offer you a drink but I cleared out the bars.”

“Some good came out of all this then?” Obie smiled and Tony felt colder. 

“Besides the new member of the family?” Tony questioned.

“Well that goes without saying doesn’t it?” Obadiah chuckled.

Tony tried to enjoy the visit. He really did. But the longer he spent with Obie the more he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. He tried to shake it off, he knew he was being paranoid. He’d known Obadiah for years. Obie had been a father to him even before Howard had died. It was just Obie’s nature to put the business first but that didn’t mean he hadn’t taken care of Tony. 

He still couldn’t fight the relief when Obadiah finally left.

He watched the door for a while afterwards. Jonah was asleep in his arms. “I’ll protect you from everyone baby.” He whispered, although it was only Jarvis who heard him.

The AI remained silent but Tony knew he was watching. It was a relief to know that if he failed in this, Jarvis would always be there to pick up his slack. Not that he had any intention of failing. Not at this.

Obadiah walked out to his car. 

He got in and just drove around for a little while, and then headed to an abandoned car lot in a poorer part of town. He pulled out a phone and dialled the only number in the contacts. “It’s me.” He stated when the call connected, although he was sure that the person he was calling already knew that. “I need you to take care of something for me, well two things actually.” He paused. “No, no, shipments will proceed as planned. But you’ve seen the news?” He waited a moment. “Yes well it’s a mutant. The sobriety’s real too. He’s cleaning himself up, unfortunately.” There was another pause. “Nothing will change; I have all I need. This is just bumping up my plans a little. You take care of this and I’ll keep you upgraded with the best SI has to offer. I need it quick, clean, and untraceable.” He waited again while the man on the other end spoke. “No both of them. Don’t need another heir giving me trouble. Thing’s a freak anyway, probably be doing it a favour.” Obie listened and then smiled. “Well alright then. Nice doing business with you.” Then he hung up the phone, removed the battery, the sim card and threw them all into three separate bins at one end of the abandoned lot. He got into his car with a smile on his face and started to hum to himself on the way home.

***

Alexander Pierce hung up the receiver and stood tall for a moment. He narrowed his eyes and then picked up the phone and dialled another number. “Activate the Asset. He has work to do.”


	9. The Thunderdome

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “See that spot right there?” Tony pointed out the little space to his son. Jonah sort of looked in the right direction. “That’s going to be your spot. I’ve had Jarvis test that shield against everything I could possibly do in the workshop and then some. Nothing will be able to harm you while you’re in there.”

“Ok Jarvis, run the tests. I wanna see if this baby works.”

“Bbbbbb!”

“Not you baby, I know you work. Jarvis?”

“Starting detonation in, three, two, one.”

There was no sound as Tony watched the explosion from the monitors in his room. He felt a slight vibration through the floor as the explosion tore through his workshop. It was probably the first time he’d ever destroyed his workshop on purpose but he needed to see. He’d used Dr Cecilia Reyes’s mutation as inspiration for a new device he’d been working on. Kinetic energy. It was more than that but it was inspired by a kinetic energy shield. What he was doing wasn’t quite the same, but it had great potential. He could see all kinds of applications for it in the military. Obie would be proud. But that wasn’t why he was making an energy shield.

He was doing it for his son.

He watched numbers scroll across the screen and as the smoke cleared the entire workshop was destroyed, except for one small square. Right in the middle of the shop, right next to where the actual detonation took place, was what looked to be a simple baby play-pen. Typical metal framed gates, but chrome instead of white and along the top and bottom bars, on both sides, was an array of special little sensors. They were specifically designed to activate during any kind of disaster. He’d already tested water, electricity, wind, earthquakes, gunfire and now explosions. And judging from the perfectly safe square, he’d succeeded. It was designed to activate automatically against any threat – even if Jarvis was deactivated.

“See that spot right there?” Tony pointed out the little space to his son. Jonah sort of looked in the right direction. “That’s going to be your spot. I’ve had Jarvis test that shield against everything I could possibly do in the workshop and then some. Nothing will be able to harm you while you’re in there.” Tony smiled and looked down at Jonah. “That’s probably the single safest place in the entire house.”

“The shield has held perfectly.” Jarvis stated. “There is no damage to the inside of the ‘Thunderdome’.”

Tony grinned at the slightly exasperated tone Jarvis took with the shield’s name. Jonah turned up to him and grabbed at his beard. “Let’s science!” He announced dramatically, making Jonah smile.

It took a while for the bots to clean up the workshop (his cars had been moved out for the explosion of course) and Tony spent that time playing with Jonah. He received a message from Charles Xavier that Logan Howlett was on his way to see them and would likely arrive later this afternoon or early tomorrow. Tony sent back that he could put Logan up in one of the guest rooms if the teacher needed it when he got here. He didn’t get a reply so Tony decided to take that as a ‘maybe’.

He pondered the impending visit as he carried Jonah down to the workshop. He wondered for a moment if he should be more nervous about inviting random mutants into his home and then dismissed the thought just as quickly. He wouldn’t think twice about inviting any other person over (for a reason of course, he didn’t have an open door policy!) and that’s what ‘mutants’ were. People.

Just like the little angel in his arms.

Of course his little angel was better than just ‘people’. His little angel was his.

“Bbbbbb!” Jonah flapped his little wings and pumped his little legs in Tony’s arms, drawing his father’s attention away from his introspective thoughts. 

Tony gave Jonah a kiss on the forehead and keyed in the code to the workshop. When he entered it looked just like it had before the explosion, his desks, screens, even the scraps of paper on the benches, were all exactly the same. Jarvis and the bots really went above and beyond. The only thing different in the shop was the cleared out area in the middle. It was surrounded by an unassuming metal frame and Tony looked back and Jonah with a grin. “Welcome to the Thunderdome!”

He wandered over, there was already a fluffy blanket on the ground and Jarvis had control over the room temperature. If Tony needed it cooler for one of his projects, Jarvis could heat up the Thunderdome separately. Dum-E whistled and whirred over with a little bag clutched in his claw. Jonah got all excited when Dum-E came over.

Jonah tried to reach for Dum-E, surprised, the little robot reared back. It was almost as though Dum-E were afraid. Dum-E chirped in confusion.

“Dum-E, this is Jonah. He’s the new Priority User.” Tony knelt down with Jonah in his arms, wondering why he hadn’t thought of introducing these two sooner. U and Butterfingers were over in their charging stations but Tony called them over. As if just waiting for the command they both leapt into action and rolled over so quickly, and noisily, that it startled Jonah.

Jonah curled into his daddy and folded his wings up to his back as he began to cry.

“Shh!” Tony shushed the bots. “Jonah’s a baby, big noises are scary for him, you also have to move slowly ok? Just be gentle, he’ll get used to you.”

Dum-E gave an annoyed whistle at his little brothers.

“Indeed.” Jarvis responded verbally, likely for Tony’s benefit.

Dum-E was actually the oldest of all of Tony’s AIs, even Jarvis. It didn’t make him the most mature of the four, but the others still showed him a slight deference. Dum-E was the first.

“Hey baby, it’s ok, they didn’t mean it. They’re kind of like your clumsy big brothers.” Tony soothed while rubbing one of his hands down Jonah’s wings. He was really starting to enjoy doing that. Jonah’s wings were just so soft! “Why don’t you meet them?” He turned to the bots, “One at a time.”

They beeped at one another and Dum-E was the one who rolled forward, a little slower than before. He leant forward again, and offered the bag to Jonah.

Tony had no idea what the bag was, or where it came from. It was one of those blue gift bags with ‘It’s a boy!’ printed on the front. He trusted Dum-E though, not to intentionally do anything harmful. And he trusted Jarvis to keep an eye on Dum-E and make sure he didn’t do anything accidentally harmful. He had to add that protocol pretty early on to Jarvis’s programming – he’d had far too many motor oil milkshakes.

Tony sat more comfortably on the ground and sat Jonah up in his lap, turning him so that he could see the bots. “See, not scary. At all.”

Jonah sniffled a little and his wings were still tucked close but Dum-E made another little chirp and Jonah looked up again.

Coming a little closer, Dum-E placed the little, blue bag on the ground. He backed off slightly and waited. When nothing happened he rolled forwards a bit and nudged the bag closer to Jonah. He cheeped at Jonah, gestured down to the bag, and cheeped again.

Tony watched the whole thing with a big, dumb grin on his face. This was probably one of the most adorable things he had ever seen in his life. His babies were bonding!

When Jonah still didn’t get the hint Dum-E rolled his claw and let out a long chirrup that sounded like Dum-E’s equivalent of a sigh.

“It’s alright Dum-E, Jonah’s just a baby. He doesn’t get it, just take it slow.” Tony reassured. 

Dum-E clicked in acknowledgement. He leant down and picked up the bag once more, he bent down and this time, moved the bag right up to Jonah and waited.

Jonah looked. For a long time, he just looked at Dum-E and then he reached out, with one chubby little hand, and touched Dum-E’s claw. 

Dum-E let out another string of beeps, but they were softer, almost purring sounds.

Jonah smiled and finally unfolded his wings, almost giving his dad a mouthful of feathers. Clearly more excited now he reached out with his other hand and grabbed at Dum-E enthusiastically. Dum-E let out a curious little chirp and opened his claws slightly. The movement startled Jonah but he just held on tighter and frowned up at Dum-E. His little wings puffed up and Tony realized that was something Jonah did when he was grumpy.

Tony was starting to notice a lot of Jonah’s emotions were communicated through the movements of his wings. They were just as telling as Jonah’s facial expressions, if not more so. Jonah’s wings drooped when he was sad, they rose when he was happy, Jonah would flap them when he was excited, hold them close to his body when he was frightened and now Tony had noticed that his feathers bristled when he was annoyed. It was adorably really, and useful.

“Jonah it’s alright, Dum-E is just trying to give you something.” He spoke calmly, he stroked the wings some more and the feathers settled.

Jonah let out a loud breath and kept his tight grip on Dum-E’s claws. Dum-E chirped quietly and very, very carefully, lowered himself and placed the bag in Jonah’s lap. Jonah relinquished his grip, surprised and now more interested in the blue bag. Without Jonah hanging onto him, Dum-E managed to unhook the bag from his claw and he rolled back a little.

With a little help from his Dad, Jonah pulled out a bright blue teddy bear from the bag. It was gorgeous and soft, mostly pale blue with a white tummy. Right in the middle of the white stomach were the words ‘Welcome to the Family’ stitched in blue cursive. 

Tony took in a breath, inexplicable tears in his eyes, “Aw you guys,” He wiped his eyes quickly. “This is amazing.” 

Apparently Jonah thought so too because he immediately started gumming at the bear’s nose.

“It was Dum-E’s idea to get Jonah a gift to welcome him.” Jarvis informed Tony. “I helped choose the present with input from U, Butterfingers and Dum-E. It was also thoroughly sterilized before given to Young Sir.” Jarvis would always comply with the Little Angel Protocol.

Tony was touched that his bots went to so much trouble. It was the cutest, most wonderful, thoughtful thing anyone had ever done for him. Or for Jonah. Jarvis had Tony’s permission to spend money on things for the house as the AI deemed necessary, this was just another sign of how his most advanced AI was growing up as well. “I’m so proud of all of you. Thank you. You’re going to be the best big brothers Jonah could ask for.”

“Of course Sir.”

The day passed perfectly, Tony had managed to get a lot of work done and Jonah had loved his little spot in his Daddy’s shop. He also loved the little bear gifted to him by the bots. He’d switched from mouthing at its nose and seemed to be trying to gum off one of the ears. One of the ears was now completely soggy. It was gross and adorable. Grodorable. It was now a thing. The bots had spent most of the time while Tony was working hovering around Jonah’s little play pen and entertaining him. They didn’t seem to tire of it and Jonah loved all the attention. Whatever Jonah’s problem was with people; he didn’t seem to have the same qualms about the bots. It was good and Tony counted it as a step in the right direction.

The bots had whistled and chirped goodbye when it was time to leave the workshop and Tony couldn’t help but feel so immensely proud of his creations. Upstairs Tony smiled. “Jarvis, you boys were amazing. You know that right?”

“Of course Sir, but it is nice to hear it spoken. Shall I inform the others you are pleased with their performance?”

Tony laughed a little and carried his grumpy little man over to the kitchen, it was grub time. “Definitely, remind me to plan some upgrades for them. Also, get yourself something nice.” It was something that he said mostly without thinking, it was something he usually told Pepper when she impressed him. Well, Jarvis had impressed him. He was also a little curious about what the AI would choose.

“There is a new weather application by the Bureau of Meteorology that is quite efficient.”

“Go ahead J, whatever it costs, it’s yours.” Tony answered with a grin. Of course Jarvis would choose something to make himself more ‘efficient’.

“Thank you Sir.”

Tony fed Jonah, bathed and dressed him in some pyjamas, and put on another Disney movie for them to watch. Jonah didn’t seem to be ready for bed and it was still pretty early. Tony was still trying to figure out a good routine to try and get Jonah into, but the little one had a long nap earlier.

He sat down on the ground, Jonah was on the ground too, on his tummy and enjoying some play time before bed.

He was just settling in when his phone began to ring. Tony picked it up but it was an unknown number. Still, it would be hard for anyone to come by his number accidentally so he decided to answer it. “Jarvis record this call.”

The AI didn’t respond but Tony knew that he was listening.

“Hello?” He answered.

“Hello?” Replied the gruff sounding voice on the other end.

The guy sounded just as confused as Tony was!

“Is this… Tony Stark?” The gruff voice spoke again, “I got this number from Charles. My name’s Logan, uh, Logan Howlett. I’m an instructor… I guess.”

“Oh!” Tony blinked. “Of course, Professor Xavier told me you were coming to see me.”

“Yes!” The voice, Logan’s voice, answered, relieved. “Sorry, don’t really like talking to people on these little square boxes. They keep breaking.”

“Is super strength a thing of yours too?”

“Something like that.”

Tony’s brain was running through some calculations; he could produce a stronger phone. Market it for construction companies. Phone’s were SI’s second highest selling product after the military contracts. “So what’s up? Travelling ok?”

The voice on the line let out a huff. “No.” Logan answered honestly. “I’m going to end up in the city early hours of the morning. I was going to take up your offer and crash at yours but its-”

“Don’t worry about it, guest room’s yours. You know my address?”

There was a pause, then an almost cautious, “Yes…”

“Well there’s a box at the gate. If I’m asleep Jarvis will let you in. Because of this call he has your voice print on file. He can guide you to your room and we can do this whole meet and greet whenever you’re feeling up to it tomorrow.”

There was another pause. “…Thanks. See you tomorrow then.”

“Sure.” Tony hung up, mind still buzzing with ideas for a reinforced phone. He could think of a thousand applications for it, and if he did it right it might fall under the government contracts. Surely the army would have a need for bullet proof phones?

“I will allow ‘Logan Howlett’ inside the premises when he arrives.” Jarvis confirmed but Tony flapped a hand at him while thinking about his new design ideas.

Jonah flopped over onto his back. It wasn’t so bad now that his wings had healed, he could spend time on his back without being too uncomfortable. This time though, he’d dropped his teddy when he rolled over and somehow, it had ended up at his feet. Jonah did not like that at all and began to grumble.

Tony looked over and was about to help when he stopped, and held his breath lest he disturb Jonah.

Jonah had rolled slightly onto his side, he was actually using one of his wings to help him stay propped up, with the bone pressing against the carpet. With his little arms he was pushing his torso up off of the ground. While Tony watched, Jonah managed to use his little wings and arms to manoeuvre himself until he was sitting up on the ground. Jonah reached down for his toy, he almost fell over and Tony nearly had a heart attack, but then he flapped his wings strongly and managed to pull himself back upright.

Teddy in hand, Jonah looked around. He had his back to the TV and looked at his Dad instead. He shoved his Teddy’s ear back in his mouth and resumed his chewing as though he hadn’t done anything special.

“Jarvis, did you see that?” Tony breathed out before his face split into a large smile. “Jonah you clever baby!” He crowed in delight and crawled over to pull his son into his arms. He realized he probably should have let Jonah sit up by himself for a bit, but he just couldn’t help himself. “The first time! Sitting up by yourself for the first time! You wonderful, clever, little angel you!”

Jonah flapped his wings happily and kicked his little legs. He was smiling around Teddy’s ear which was he was still holding in his mouth.

Tony held him close. “You clever little Stark.” He said proudly. “What a genius.”

***

Tony wasn’t sure what woke him. It was dark, and quiet. Jonah was still sound asleep beside him. He knew that he should probably put Jonah in the state of the art cot that he had bought but… There was just something nice about having Jonah sleep with him. According to Jarvis he wasn’t the only parent who thought that way, and although there were risks, Tony had Jarvis to keep an eye on him and make sure nothing happened.

Tony blinked and looked around blearily. Jonah was stretched out with his little mouth open and his eyes closed. Tony looked over to try and see the time, only to find that his alarm clock was dark. In fact, the whole room was too dark. Even the little nightlight over in the corner was out. A cold feeling sank into Tony’s stomach. Tony got up slowly, careful not to wake Jonah.

“Jarvis?” He called quietly, knowing that if Jarvis was online he’d be able to hear him. And knowing that if Jarvis was offline, whoever was in his house was less likely to hear him if he whispered.

There was no answer.

Nerves prickled across Tony’s skin as his mind ran through what his options were. He had to get Jonah to the workshop. The Thunderdome was autonomously powered. Jonah would be safe there.

Tony turned quickly and picked Jonah up as quickly and as gently as he could. Jonah woke up with a little grumble and Tony soothed him as much as he could. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and he turned quickly.

There was a man at his bedroom door. The man was tall, muscular and wearing black tactical gear. His face was covered in what looked to be some kind of metal, respiratory mask and his eyes were covered by strange looking goggles. He had shoulder length, greasy, dark hair that fell over his face. He’d be frightening even without the practical arsenal of weapons he had on his person.

It was obvious why this man was here. This wasn’t just a random break in, no one ordinary would be able to get past Jarvis, this man was a professional.

Tony’s heart was pounding in his chest and the man lifted a gun, his fingers shone oddly but Tony didn’t have time figure out why, there was no time.

“Please don’t kill my son.” Tony whispered. He didn’t want to die. He really didn’t. But the thought of Jonah being killed hurt so much worse. “He’s just a baby.” Tony’s voice broke and he took a breath.

The guy with the gun did not seem moved.

Jonah started to cry.

“I’m sorry.” Whispered Tony, holding his son close with tears welling in his eyes. “Daddy’s right here… ‘till the end of the line.”


	10. broken glass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’m sorry.” Whispered Tony, holding his son close with tears welling in his eyes. “Daddy’s right here… ‘till the end of the line.”
> 
> The man with the gun seemed to pause, he was still before but he was now completely motionless. Tony wasn’t even sure he was breathing.

“I’m sorry.” Whispered Tony, holding his son close with tears welling in his eyes. “Daddy’s right here… ‘till the end of the line.”

The man with the gun seemed to pause, he was still before but he was now completely motionless. Tony wasn’t even sure he was breathing.

Tony wasn’t sure what was going on but the man in black wasn’t shooting. He couldn’t tell where the man was looking because of his goggles but he definitely seemed distracted and this might be Tony’s only chance. Tony’s eyes darted around, thinking fast, he had to get Jonah to the Thunderdome. He saw the baby monitor, it was within reach and kind of round. It was also quite heavy for its size.

The man took a breath suddenly and Tony’s eyes switched back to him, hoping he hadn’t noticed what Tony was doing… or the fact that he was now holding Jonah with one hand. “What did you just say?” The man whispered.

Tony frowned lightly. He didn’t know what his wannabe assassin wanted him to say exactly and he was wary of saying anything else.

“What. Did. You. Just. Say?” The man growled more insistently, taking a step forward and shoving the gun at Tony aggressively.

It was now or never - Tony thought to himself as he launched the monitor-come-weapon at the assassin’s head. He used all the force he could but he didn’t stick around to see if he’d hit his target. The man was in front of the door so Tony dove over to the other side of the bed. There was a grunt from the guy with the gun and then the gun fired. 

Logan pulled up to the Stark estate at a little bit after three in the morning. He stopped at the gate, pulling up in a beat up old Ford truck that he was fond of. Charles kept trying to buy him something new but as smart as he was, the young Professor had no appreciation for classics. His truck was well worn, but it still ran like a dream and he took her out whenever he could.

He stopped next to what looked like a really advanced callbox and rolled his eyes. Charles had warned him about the excessive technology, he hadn’t realized it started at the gate. Logan reached out but the device seemed unresponsive. He frowned. Mr Stark had told him it would be fine; could he have forgotten? Logan looked around. The Malibu, cliff side mansion was really impressive – and completely unmistakeable. This was definitely Stark’s house. It was also completely dark. There wasn’t so much as a porch light on. He wondered if that was normal? Most houses seemed to have some form of lighting, even at night, these days.

He got out of his car. He scented the air but nothing seemed amiss. The night was still and quiet. Perhaps a little too still and quiet.

Something was niggling at Logan’s instincts and the old mutant hadn’t lived as long as he had without learning to trust his instincts.

Logan vaulted over the gate. Worst case: he’d be arrested. Wouldn’t be the first time Charles had bailed him out. Probably wouldn’t be the last. But if something bad happened that he could have prevented…

He heard a gunshot and took off running towards the house.

Tony dove over the opposite side of the bed. It wasn’t a permanent solution, but he’d bought himself a few seconds. The gun had fired but missed completely, hitting the bed. He tried to think, there had to be something he could do! But the only way out of his room was behind a now pissed off assassin. Jonah was screaming in his arms, but thankfully he wasn’t struggling. He just kept trying to curl into his father and it fuelled Tony’s determination. He just had to think!

But then his thoughts were shattered by literal shattering glass.

Another man had just crashed in through his bedroom window and Tony curled around Jonah as the glass flew everywhere. He peeked over the edge of the bed to see that the second man had launched himself at the assassin. They were about as wide as each other, all muscles by the looks of it. Similar builds but the second guy was a little shorter. The assassin fired a few shots at the second guy but the second guy just shrugged off the bullet wounds as though they were nothing and kept coming at the assassin.

Healing factor. That must be Logan! Tony quickly realized as he watched them fight. 

Logan kept up with the assassin and managed to disarm him but the assassin landed a solid punch to his chest and the strength of it send him sliding back across the floor. He managed to stay on his feet, crouching and getting ready once more. The assassin pulled out a knife and Logan smirked, “Yeah, bub?” Three long, metal blades ‘snikt’ out from each of his knuckles. “Fucking try it!” He snarled, launching himself back at his opponent.

Tony may have been gaping by this point. A mutant with metal claws? And a healing factor that let him shrug off bullets?

Logan had quickly processed the situation as he’d come crashing through the window. The man in black was obviously a professional which meant that someone had hired him to kill Tony, or Jonah, or both. Either way the old mutant was not going to let that happen. Unfortunately, the assassin was good. He was superbly well trained as well as faster and stronger than an ordinary human. The fight was pretty even, the assassin somehow managing to fend off Logan’s claws with his knife and his right arm.

It was the smell Logan noticed first. Something about the man he was fighting smelt… off… metallic. Then it was the sound. And odd, whirring and grinding kind of sound, that seemed to happen every time the assassin moved his right arm. He didn’t figure it out until he managed to get a good swipe in with his claws, expecting blood and instead getting the sound of metal hitting metal. Sparks flew as Logan’s claws grated down what he quickly realized was a metal arm.

Tony noticed the metal arm too but he wasn’t paying as much attention to that as Logan was. Instead, he’d inched his way around the bed, Logan had managed to move the fight up against a wall and now the doorway was clear. Tony stood, the assassin turned to him but Tony was running before he had the chance to do anything about it. Logan quickly took advantage of the distraction.

Tony bolted, he felt the glass cutting the soles of his feet but in kind of a detached way. He didn’t have time to feel pain right now. He had to focus on Jonah. Get Jonah to the Thunderdome. The thought repeated over and over in his mind. It was all he had to focus on right now, everything else was secondary.

He made it out of his bedroom door, leaving the fight behind. He ran through the dark hallways of his mansion and down the stairs leading to the workshop. He wasn’t surprised to find that the door was already open. Apart from that everything in the shop looked normal at first glance. Although it was much too dark.

Tony quickly made his way to the Thunderdome. He gave Jonah a quick kiss on the forehead before lowering him into the pen and activating the shield. Nothing would be able to get to Jonah now. 

The sheer relief that flooded him almost made him pass out. He did it. Even if he didn’t make it out of this mess, Jonah’s safety was guaranteed. But he had to focus.

Stumbling around the shop in the dark he found his way over to one of his weapons benches. He armed himself quickly and found a penlight torch he used sometimes when working on finer machinery. He found his way over to the wall where Jarvis’s servers were hidden.

U and Butterfingers were created after Jarvis and required the AI’s supervision to run, their programming was tied to the larger AI’s. But DUM-E was different. He was created first and ran on a different system to his little brothers.

With a few beeps DUM-E whirred to life and rolled out of his charging station. He was clumsy and loud, Tony shone his torch at him for a moment before ignoring him and turning back to what he was doing. He had to get Jarvis back online. 

DUM-E clicked curiously but Sir wasn’t paying attention. Priority User was crying so DUM-E turned his attention to the baby instead. That was strange. DUM-E rotated his claw as he approached the crying babe. Sir had given the impression that Priority User crying was a Bad Thing. Why would Sir be ignoring Priority User crying if it was a Bad Thing? 

DUM-E didn’t have the most advanced logic protocols but even he knew that his creator didn’t do Bad Things.

DUM-E beeped a little at Priority User, the way he had the day before, trying to distract the Priority User from his tears. It did not work; Priority User could not be calmed this way. DUM-E looked at his creator. Sir was still in his bed clothes, as was Priority User. Sir’s feet were bloody. Jarvis was not responding to DUM-E’s requests and Sir appeared to be working on Jarvis’s servers. DUM-E rotated his claw again and looked over. The workshop door was open.

DUM-E didn’t have the most advanced logic protocols but even he realized that something was Very Wrong.

Usually when something was Very Wrong, Jarvis would relay instructions to the bots and they would follow them. As autonomous as they liked to be, where Sir’s safety was concerned all four of the AIs were in complete synchronisation. A synchronisation that DUM-E couldn’t rely on now and that was Very Wrong.

DUM-E used his scanners to try and gather more information, that is what Jarvis would do. His scanners weren’t terribly advanced, but he picked up vibrations upstairs. There were other people in the house.

DUM-E didn’t have the most advance logic protocols but even he realized that combined with everything else this was Highly Dangerous.

If this was Highly Dangerous then both Sir and Priority User needed protection. Jarvis may have been the one with the Little Angel Protocol but with Jarvis currently unresponsive DUM-E took up the mantle. 

DUM-E looked around, Priority User was still upset. That was a Bad Thing. He reached into the Thunderdome and moved one of Priority User’s toys closer so that the baby could grab it. This seemed to work, distracting the baby from his tears. DUM-E beeped. That is what U would have done. He pulled his claw out of the Thunderdome and checked to make sure the shield was running at optimal capacity. DUM-E and the bots were programmed to be allowed access to the Thunderdome.

Sir was hurt but it was not an injury that was life threatening so although concerned, DUM-E filed that at the back of his executables. It was something he was not equipped to deal with so he prioritized. That is what Jarvis would do.

The workshop started to get lighter as lights and screens started working again. Jarvis should be online soon.

DUM-E kept his scanners running. The vibrations had changed and now seemed to be coming closer. That was both Very Wrong and Highly Dangerous.

DUM-E picked up a heavy wrench and took position in front of the door, ready to defend his creator. That is what Butterfingers would do.

DUM-E couldn’t synchronise with his brothers, but he tried his best to make sure he did What They Would Do. He had to protect Sir and Priority User.

Tony didn’t pay attention to DUM-E, vaguely noting that the bot was trying to play with Jonah but his mind was on his task. He wasn’t sure how the assassin had managed to shut down Jarvis but he had to get the AI back online. With Jarvis online the security functions of the house would run and that assassin wouldn’t know what hit him!

Tony was grumbling to himself as he worked. His hand flying through the wires, the cables, trying to find what it was that disabled Jarvis. He managed to get minor functions and power running so he pulled out a keyboard and screen and began to type. His fingers flew, he glanced back at the door but his fingers never halted and neither did his mind. He found it, it was a virus. Somehow whoever ‘they’ were they’d managed to send a virus piggybacking along with that weather program Jarvis had downloaded. It didn’t take Tony long to remove the program, the virus and any other problems now that he knew what they were. Then he started the long process of rebooting Jarvis. Unfortunately, Jarvis needed a complete reboot and Tony wasn’t sure how long that would take.

Tony ran over to his desk and started furiously typing on the keyboard there as well, as slowly, the monitors and holographic screens slowly came to life. The lights turned on in the workshop and Jonah started to cry again. “In a minute baby. Daddy’s almost got it.” Tony babbled nonsensically while he worked. His mind barely paying attention to his words. “I love you baby and it’s gonna be alright. You’re safe. Nothing can hurt you in there and I’m not going to let anyone hurt you ever again.” There! He’d done it. Holographic screens popped up in front of him as the security cameras switched back online. It was a little more difficult to control things like that without Jarvis online, but not impossible.

Tony watched as the assassin managed to get in a final swipe with his knife, slashing at Logan’s throat, before jumping out of the previously broken window and taking off into the night. Tony watched, horrified as Logan fell back with blood spraying from his neck. The logical part of Tony’s mind was urging him to move, telling him he had to get upstairs and help the man, but Tony was in shock. He sat back into his desk chair numbly. His whole body felt cold as he continued to watch Logan’s life blood seep into the carpet.

Logan grew still.

Tony held his breath. 

Then Logan seemed to twitch, cough and splutter, before getting shakily to his feet. He still had a hand pressed to his neck but the blood flow seemed to have lessened considerably. Tony watched through the monitors as Logan stumbled out of the room. He was heading to the workshop.

Healing factor. Right. Tony forced himself to breathe. Professor Xavier had told Tony that Logan had the one of the most advanced healing factors that he had ever seen. Tony probably should have been watching as Logan made his progress through the house to where Tony was, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from his bedroom. The blood on the floor. Logan’s blood. A man he didn’t even know had done that to save him and his son. For a single, terrifying second, Tony saw Jonah’s and his bodies in that blood. Is that what they would have found?

Tony could feel panic clawing at the edges of his mind, darkness seemed to be encroaching on his vision. He could hear Jonah crying and he knew he had to get up and check on his boy but he’d started to hyperventilate and nothing was making sense.

A dull thud of metal against flesh, some angry sounding beeps and a muffled curse pulled Tony back from his approaching panic attack.

Tony turned quickly, gun in hand, to see DUM-E viciously wielding a wrench against Logan, who Tony figured that DUM-E assumed was a threat. Logan had put his claws away and was trying to fend off the bot one handed while his other hand was still holding onto his throat.

“DUM-E no!” Tony called, getting to his feet, wincing with pain. Right, glass cuts on the bottoms of his feet. He ignored it and hobbled over to pull his bot off of his saviour. “DUM-E stop! He saved us, he’s a good guy!”

DUM-E lowered the wrench, but when Logan lowered his arm DUM-E waved it threateningly with a few low toned beeps so he knew the bot was serious. DUM-E would always defend his creator and the Priority User!

Logan smirked at the attitude of the bot. “Sure, I get ya.” His voice was hoarse and scratchy but that was normal after having his throat sliced open – he unfortunately knew from experience. He turned to Tony, “You both alright?” He asked gruffly, as though he weren’t the one completely covered in his own blood.

Tony was too shocked to answer with anything other than the truth. “I don’t know.” He answered quietly. His voice sounded small, weak, and so very young.

Logan’s eyes softened sympathetically. “You did good.” He assured. “You got the babe to safety. You didn’t panic. You’re a good father.” The older man was used to this kind of trauma, Tony was so young and clearly had never been through something like this. Logan knew that technically Tony was an adult, but the smaller man looked so much like child right now that Logan couldn’t help but feel protective of the smaller man. “Let’s get those feet taken care of, then we can figure out the rest.”

***

It was seven in the morning. The police and paramedics had come and gone. There was a cleaning crew working on Tony’s room now. Tony was sitting in his lounge room with Jonah held tightly in his arms. He hadn’t let the baby go since the attack. Jonah was happy enough, he had his Teddy back and was happily resuming his efforts to gum off the ear. Logan stood off to the side for the most part, answering questions when needed to but apart from that remaining stoic and silent. 

Oddly enough Tony found his presence comforting. It was the silence that Tony needed right now. A silence he knew wouldn’t last once Pepper, Happy and Rhodey learned about what had happened. But for now… he just…

“Take all the time you need.” Logan said quietly as the last of the police officers left. Tony had declined their protection but they’d probably leave a car out front anyway. “I’ll hang around as long as you need me.”

Tony looked up with a question on his lips.

Logan just shrugged before he had a chance to ask it. “Don’t have any immediate plans. Already called Charles and he’s happy for me to stick around.”

Tony just nodded and went back to holding Jonah.

Jonah flapped his wings and cuddled in close to Tony, completely thrilled with all of the extra attention.

“Sir.” Jarvis distracted Tony from his stupor. He had been rebooted completely a few hours. He’d been running interference with all the people in the house and helping maintain Jonah’s secret. He’d stepped up and taken over, noticing that Tony was currently unable to. He’d looked over all the footage that he could of the attack, as well as DUM-E’s personal log as well. Jarvis had to admit, he was impressed with his eldest brother and his surprisingly quick thinking under the circumstances. “I have found something you should see.” In accordance with the Little Angel Protocol, Jarvis had been attempting to track the man who had attacked them.

Tony picked up a tablet that was laying on his coffee table. Jarvis brought up his findings.

During the fight, Logan had managed to get the mask and goggles off of the attacker. Jarvis had taken as still shot of the face from the security footage and enhanced it. He had also used his scanners to examine the blood from the fight, finding three types in the bedroom. Tony’s, from the cuts on his feet, Logan’s and a third type belonging to the assassin. Jarvis’s analyses had found that not only was the blood enhanced with a super soldier type serum, that the blood was, in fact, on record.

Tony looked at the picture of the assassin, next to a profile of a soldier from World War 2. James Buchanan Barnes.

“Bucky?” Tony breathed out in shock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fear not! We will be getting more of Bucky soon I promise :P


	11. a baby's trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Almost as if sensing his presence, Jonah opened his eyes and blinked sleepily up at his dad. When Jonah noticed that it was Tony looking down at him he wriggled excitedly and lifted his arms, his little hands opening and closing, making little grabby motions at his dad. Helpless to resist, regardless of how tired he was, Tony reached down and picked up his gorgeous baby angel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in updating, I'm kind of a more ROTG fanwriter tbh and this fic is a bit of an experiment for me - it's a little trickier to write :P
> 
> Either way, I'm going to keep it up. I have a lot of ideas for these two :)

Tony typed furiously, working through images and videos. Old files and new files. Hacking into programs and computers he wasn’t supposed to know existed, and probably wouldn’t have known existed before today. Jonah played in his pen. Logan stood off to the side. Silent but ever present. It was a strangely comforting constant during Tony’s otherwise chaotic day. Pepper had already seen him and she’d yelled at him and cried at him until Tony had managed to convince her than both he and Jonah were fine. She’d left about an hour ago. He’d also had a long, tense conversation with Rhodey and Happy was now staying with him until further notice. He didn’t mind, Happy made awesome waffles.

Logan didn’t seem to be bothered by it at all either, although he refused to leave unless Tony told him to.

The assassin had been enhanced, Happy was good but he wasn’t that good. Tony was willing to take all the help he could get.

Days passed and Tony was so busy with his research that he had almost forgotten why Logan was there in the first place. He did want to talk to the older man about healing factors and such but Logan seemed to understand that this came first. Someone had threatened his son, that was now Tony’s top priority until he could ascertain with one-hundred percent certainty that Jonah was safe from whoever it was. Tony didn’t know if it had anything to do with who Jonah was, or who Tony was, but it didn’t matter. Jonah was in danger. Tony was going to stop them.

Tony didn’t sleep much but Logan didn’t bother him. Days passed. Tony was used to functioning without sleep and he somehow managed to juggle parenting Jonah and doing his research at the same time. He dubbed his current work: Project Save-The-Baby. Not very original but he hadn’t slept for three days. Sue him.

Some of the things Tony had found… He learned that the man who’d attacked him was known as the Winter Soldier. The Winter Soldier was, apparently, the assassin all assassins feared. He had also been active for close to seventy years. He was a myth among myths, Tony couldn’t help a little smirk when he thought about it: baby assassins going to bed with stories of the Winter Soldier to scare them into being good. Or bad. Or whatever assassins thought of themselves.

God he needed sleep.

Logan agreed with this assessment because he distracted Tony with a large hand on the young engineer’s shoulder. “Get some rest.”

Tony replied with an intelligible word which may have started as English but turned into something else on the way from his brain to his mouth.

“Right.” Logan agreed with a smirk. “Up and at ‘em.” He hoisted Tony to his feet with a firm grip on the younger man’s upper arms.

Tony was too tired to protest as he was systematically marched to his bathroom. 

“Shower first.” Logan demanded. “It’s getting so that not just I can smell ya.”

Tony made another grumbling noise but proceeded into the bathroom nonetheless. Filing away that little tidbit about Logan’s sense of smell somewhere in his mind. Even barely conscious Tony’s brain collected new information.

Logan waited outside while Tony took care of his bathing needs. Jonah was asleep in his cot with Happy keeping an eye on him. Logan was actually quite impressed with Tony’s ability to be a father and lose himself in a project at the same time. He’d watched Tony in the last three days and even though he was constantly distracted by his research, he never neglected Jonah. Not once. If Jonah wanted attention, Tony would display what he wanted to view on the nearest screen and spend time with him. If Jonah was hungry then Tony dropped everything to feed him. If Jonah just wanted a cuddle, then Tony would hold him with one hand while typing furiously with the other. Tony was amazing at multitasking, the only person he seemed to forget to take care of was himself.

Tony finished his ablutions and wandered out of the bathroom in a clean singlet and some loose fitting cotton pants. He was still blinking sleepily; the shower woke him up a little but he was still tired.

Logan propelled him gently towards his room. Tony didn’t fight it nearly as much as he thought he should.

“Didn’t take you for a-” _yawn_ “Mother hen.” Tony mumbled, yawning halfway through.

Logan snorted. “Just get to bed before you collapse.” He couldn’t exactly deny Tony’s assessment. Logan wasn’t entirely sure why he was helping Tony so much when they’d only just met. The only explanation he had was that the kid had impressed him. Tony was twenty-two and he’d adopted a mutant baby he knew nothing about and then was willing to risk his own life to protect that baby. It hadn’t been lost on Logan that Jonah had been the only one put in the protective ‘Thunderdome’ that night. The space would have fit the both of them but Tony had chosen to protect his son directly instead of hiding on the other side of the shield. 

Tony was a good, if young, man. And it appeared he would go above and beyond for his family. Something that Logan could respect, having no real family of his own.

Tony plodded into his room, now restored to exactly the way it was before the attack. He’d been a bit nervous about coming back into this room the first time, but he’d reinforced the windows and added a few nasty surprises in case anyone tried to get to him in here again. There was also another shield built into Jonah’s cot, called the ‘Minidome’. The workshop would still be safer because of its underground location but at least Jonah had some protection in the room now in case of another emergency.

Before he wandered to his own bed he stepped over to check on Jonah, passing Happy who was dozing in a comfortable armchair next to the cot. Almost as if sensing his presence, Jonah opened his eyes and blinked sleepily up at his dad. When Jonah noticed that it was Tony looking down at him he wriggled excitedly and lifted his arms, his little hands opening and closing, making little grabby motions at his dad. Helpless to resist, regardless of how tired he was, Tony reached down and picked up his gorgeous baby angel. Jonah could now sleep on his back so he spent some of his time sleeping in the cot. Although, Tony would admit, he spent a lot more time sleeping with his dad.

When Jonah was in his daddy’s arms he smiled and snuggled in closer, his little wings stretching out briefly only to pull back in as Jonah relaxed. He was asleep again in minutes. Tony chuckled lightly and carried his little bundle to bed.

Soon he was under the covers and curled protectively around his son. He gave a last bleary look around, Happy was still snoozing in the armchair, although he had woken up enough to notice Tony taking Jonah. Logan was leaning up against a wall like he always did. Tony considered telling them to go get some real sleep but he kind of felt better with them in the room. He closed his eyes and listened to Jonah breathing, his hand running up and down one of Jonah’s wings until he finally fell asleep.

Tony slept solidly for four hours, until movement in his arms made him open his eyes. Jonah was awake.

Jonah seemed happy enough to just lie in Tony’s arms and look up at the ceiling. Tony thought about going back to sleep but Jonah made a funny kind of smile/grimace and then and incredibly disturbing sound tore its way out of the baby’s backside. Quickly followed by an even more disturbing smell. Once finished Jonah’s face cleared and he seemed as happy as ever.

Tony gave a little grimace of his own. “Well that’s one way to wake up.” When Tony spoke Jonah looked over and when he noticed his dad was awake he started to wriggle excitedly and he gave another of his big smiles. Tony melted a little. “Alright it’s not that bad.” He admitted. As he rose and pulled Jonah up with him. “Let’s have a bath ok? Then we can both get some grub.”

About an hour later Tony is sitting in his lounge room, on the floor with his back resting against the couch, with Jonah in his arms happily guzzling down a bottle. Jonah was clean and dressed in another set of overalls because they seem to work the best with his wings.

Logan was sitting on one of the lounges absently thumbing through some car magazine and Happy was organizing dinner. It was late afternoon.

Jonah finished his bottle and Tony picked him up to start the burping. Jonah made some cute cooing noises before he managed to pass his wind. Even his little burps were adorable, and thankfully not wet this time. 

“You didn’t puke on me!” Tony praised as he pulled his smiling baby back around to look at him. “No puke for daddy!” Tony said in a silly voice and Jonah smiled wider, flapping his little wings in the way that Tony had come to realize he did when he was happy or excited. Even when Jonah finished moving his wings he held them high and open. It was ridiculously endearing.

Very carefully, Tony lay Jonah down on the ground, on his back. Jonah frowned and wriggled, before pushing back with his wings and with the strength of his wings alone he managed to push himself up to a sitting position. With his little chubby arms flailing slightly he almost fell forward, but he managed to catch himself with his wings, flapping them somewhat to pull himself back and balance, sitting up and looking expectantly up at his father.

Tony clapped excitedly. “Woo! That’s my baby!” He cheered. The strength in Jonah’s wings was amazing and he’d seen Jonah use them on more than one occasion. Honestly Tony had never thought of wings in any other capacity then for flying, but Jonah used them all the time. Mostly for balance but he used them to help push himself around too. The twin appendages were surprisingly strong and Jonah treated them almost like another set of arms. They were also more flexible then Tony had thought they would be. It was adorable, and surprisingly practical. Tony leant over and pet Jonah lightly on the head. “You’re a smarty just like your dad.” He complimented.

Jonah grabbed at Tony’s face and pulled on his beard, smiling as he did so.

Tony smiled and cast about for something else for Jonah to play with, he found Teddy and passed the bear over. Teddy had been washed once a day over the last three days, but his ears were still incredibly ‘gummed’. As soon as Teddy was back within Jonah’s grasp the happy baby boy quickly resumed his mission, gumming furiously at the bear’s ears. Over the past few days, while Jonah had been in the workshop in his Thunderdome, the bots had been keeping a watchful eye on the younger Stark.

DUM-E never left Jonah’s side while the babe was in the workshop. Whenever Jonah would play with another toy, like his teething ring, the clawed bot would make a beeping sound and push Teddy back to Jonah. If Jonah didn’t notice Teddy straight away he would beep again and when Jonah noticed him would once again show Teddy. Nine times out of ten Jonah would end up playing with Teddy over other toys. So with a little ‘encouragement’ from DUM-E, Teddy was now Jonah’s favourite toy. Tony hadn’t interfered because he’d found the whole thing just too cute.

He’d never been surrounded by so much adorableness in his entire life.

Tony smiled, watching Jonah chew on his bear with great enthusiasm. Logan was watching the two of them, having put down his magazine.

He got up and sat down next to Tony, on the other side away from Jonah. Charles had warned him about Jonah’s fear of other people. Not that Logan was desperate to hold the baby anyway.

“You’re not heading back down?” Logan jerked his thumb in the general direction of the workshop.

“Hm?” Tony looked up from Jonah, “Nah. Not this afternoon. I just want to spend some quality time with Jonah. I’ve been too distracted over the past few days; I don’t want to neglect him.” Tony’s mind flashed back to his own childhood… and the father who never had time for him. The mother who never cared. Tony wasn’t a child to his parents… Tony was more of a house ornament. Something they looked at from time to time but only pulled out on special occasions. He knew he’d been distracted lately, he knew he’d been justified in his distraction, he also knew that Jonah didn’t understand any of that.

Logan snorted, “If this is ‘neglect’ then I don’t think Jonah has anything to worry about. Kid’s got you wrapped around his little finger.”

Tony smiled and turned back to see Jonah still happily munching on Teddy. “Thanks. So… healing factors?” Tony started, unsure really about how to ask about the whole thing. He didn’t really know if he was being rude or not but just decided to be blunt with Logan. “What do I need to know?”

If Logan was surprised or offended by Tony’s sudden inquiry, he didn’t show it. He just looked contemplative for a moment. “There’s a lot I can tell ya.” He admitted with a frown. “Don’t know how advanced Jonah’s factor is.”

“Dr Reyes told me that her preliminary tests show that Jonah’s is quite advanced, but she said she would be able to tell anything else until Jonah is old enough to undergo further tests.” Tony responded, Dr Reyes had sent the result of the blood tests she had taken yesterday. It was really interesting stuff. Tony may not have been all that into biology but he was starting to develop a more personal interest in the subject now.

Logan nodded along with Tony’s words, he was now watching Jonah as well. The baby was just staring at his dad and chewing on his bear. “Well, some of the problems I’ve encountered personally are… well… Jonah probably won’t go through some of the things I have but I’ll mention this anyway – Memories. Memories don’t always grow back.” Logan noticed that Tony was frowning up at him so he elaborated. “I suffered a severe head injury about… forty odd years ago. I don’t remember anything before it. My brain healed just fine and so did the rest of me, but my memories? From before that time? Are gone. I get flashes sometimes but nothing concrete.”

“Forty? You must have just been a kid back then!” If not a baby, Logan didn’t look that old. He had a sort of worn look about him, but Tony thought it made the man look older than he otherwise would.

“That’s another thing, I don’t seem to age.” Logan gestured down at his body, “I’ve looked exactly like this for forty years. I have no idea how old I really am, or if I will ever actually age. There’s some science jargon about my healing factor repairing older cells constantly or something. I dunno.”

“Wow. Never aging… that… would really suck.”

Logan blinked, surprised.

“I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’d be cool but it would still suck.” Tony rushed to explain. “I’d love to never age but I’d hate to live longer than my friends and…” Tony looked at Jonah. “I’d hate for Jonah to have to live past the people he grows to care about too.” Tony shrugged. “I guess that’s something we’ll work out when we get there.” If Jonah’s healing factor was like Logan’s and prevented him from aging, there would be a cut-off point. A point where it started. Tony doubted Jonah would just remain a baby forever, and even if he did Tony would still love and care for him. Unlike with his own parents, Tony’s love for Jonah was entirely unconditional.

Logan shrugged and relaxed a little, “Haven’t lived passed anyone yet, at least, not that I remember.”

They spent a moment in silence before curiosity got the better of Tony and he spoke up once more, “So the memory thing and the age thing, any other ‘things’ I need to watch out for?” He asked, mentally filing away those two ‘things’ for further study later on. He wouldn’t use Jonah as a test subject, per se, but he would learn as much as he could about him to help him later on. Nothing invasive, just the power of observation.

“Yeah.” Logan answered quietly. “Something… it’s… It hurts.”

“Hurts?!” Tony looked back over to Jonah, but the baby wasn’t looking at him anymore. Now he was just looking around the room with his Teddy’s ear still firmly lodged in his mouth.

“No, not all the time but… Just because I can heal it doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt. There are… people out there who take that pain for granted. I can heal a broken bone in minutes, but it hurts me just as much as it would hurt you to break a bone. I feel it, even if it doesn’t last as long.”

Tony was about to reply when Jonah fell over, face forward onto the carpet. They both turned back to the baby.

Jonah snuffled and let out a few little sobs but Tony held back.

“I just want to see what he’ll do.” Tony answered Logan’s expected question. Tony loved Jonah, and because of that he knew that Jonah needed to learn some things on his own. Jonah wasn’t really screaming so he wasn’t in pain, the few little cries he’d emitted were more frustrated than anything else.

So they watched.

Jonah grumbled but used his hands to push himself up, his wings splayed wide behind his back. They flapped strongly a few times, blowing up a little breeze that both Logan and Tony could feel, helping Jonah pull himself up onto all fours. Once Jonah was up he looked around, apparently delighted at his new position. Then he noticed that his Teddy was lying beneath him. Jonah moved a hand to grab the Teddy, unbalanced, and fell more solidly onto his face. Now Jonah started to cry.

“Ow baby,” Tony picked Jonah up quickly. “It’s alright. You’re alright, let me look at you.” Tony held Jonah slightly away from himself. There was a little red mark on Jonah’s forehead that faded back to pale skin as he watched. It was gone in seconds.

Logan whistled. “That’s impressive for a baby.” He commented after seeing Jonah’s healing factor in action.

Jonah calmed quickly in his daddy’s arms. His wings were curled close to him at first but he quickly stretched them out happily. Logan’s whistle drew his attention and soon his blue eyed gaze was focused on Logan.

Tony was grateful that Jonah calmed down so quickly, he’d felt a little guilty about not picking him up straight away. But as far as Tony knew that had been the first time Jonah had been up on all fours, even if it had only lasted for a second. It was a big leap and he was so proud, Tony turned to look at Logan when Jonah did. “Oh that’s right, you two haven’t been formally introduced.” He had kind of forgotten about it considering the circumstances in which they’d met. “Jonah, this is Logan. He has a healing factor, just like you.” Tony kissed Jonah’s forehead. “He also saved us the other night.”

“Bbbbbbb…” Jonah trailed off with one of his hands finding its way back into his daddy’s beard, even though he was still staring at Logan.

“Ah… hello?” Logan mumbled, a little unsure, at the intense blue gaze of the baby. He didn’t really understand it but babies’ kind of made him nervous. Maybe it was because they were so breakable? But if Jonah’s healing factor was up to scratch then he really wasn’t that breakable was he? Logan shuffled a little, a bit uncomfortable with the way the babe was openly staring at him. He could face the worst monsters on earth without flinching but this… innocence unnerved him.

Tony watched Jonah watching Logan. The baby seemed genuinely interested in Logan. It was the same sort of interest that Jonah had shown in the bots. Slowly, Tony shuffled over a little so that he and Logan were pressed shoulder to shoulder. He wasn’t paying much attention to Logan and he’d never really been one to care too much about personal space. He was cuddly. He didn’t see Logan’s wide eyed reaction, instead focusing on Jonah’s reaction to being closer to someone new. This was important.

Jonah startled a little and drew his wings back close to his body and rested his face on Tony’s chest. But he didn’t take his eyes from Logan and he didn’t start to cry.

Logan wasn’t sure what Tony was doing but he met Jonah’s gaze evenly, trying to emit ‘harmlessness’ even though he knew the beast in him was anything but.

“It’s alright my baby angel, he’s a friend. No one here is going to hurt you. You’re safe. I’ll keep you safe and Logan will too, won’t you Logan?” Tony reassured his son softly, not sure if Jonah would understand the words exactly, but hoping the tone would convey his message.

It took Logan a second to realize that Tony was talking to him, the older man’s eyes flicked up to meet Tony’s briefly before he gave his attention back to the baby. “I’ll protect you. You have my word.” Logan was many things, but he prided himself on his code of honour. He would never willingly go back on his word.

Jonah blinked and leant away from Tony, just a little. His wings were still defensive but he reached out a hand to Logan. He couldn’t quite reach the older man. He frowned.

Moving on instinct, he had learned very quickly to trust his instincts, Logan reached a hand out to meet Jonah’s. The baby seemed to watch the hand coming towards him almost warily, although he didn’t move away. It was sad to see that a baby this young had learned to be so cautious.

Tiny, pale fingers curled around Logan’s pointer finger. The baby held on with a grip that surprised the older man, who knew babies were so strong?

Tony held his breath, this was momentous. This was the first time Jonah had allowed contact with anyone apart from him.

Then Jonah’s wings slowly stretched out and he babbled a little, still frowning.

“Is that right?” Logan asked with a soft smile, his finger still held tightly by the little one.

Jonah startled a little at Logan’s voice. He looked up from where he was holding Logan’s hand and once more met the older mutant’s eyes. 

Jonah smiled and Tony laughed, relieved that his baby boy had finally opened up a little and stopped being so afraid. He was so proud in that moment and he had to turn away from Logan a little so that the older man didn’t noticed the moisture in his eyes. Logan smiled back at Jonah and didn’t mention Tony’s emotional state at all.

***

It was three in the morning. It was dark. There was a bottle of scotch on the table, the good stuff. And a single glass tumbler. No ice, he wasn’t sure how long he’d sit here. He stared at the bottle with both of his hands resting in his lap. He idly wondered if someone would get the wrong idea if they came across him now?

Not that it mattered. The only person who would hopefully come across him like this was trying to kill him anyway so…

Tony had a plan. It wasn’t a perfect plan; he’d admit that much. Getting Logan and Happy to go along with it had been a nightmare but… he’d found out even more about the Winter Soldier and a threat that great needed something. Some crazy unpredictable plan that would hopefully take the assassin by surprise… and save Tony’s life in the process. He wasn’t a fool. It was only his life that he was risking.

So he waited. Silently. Sitting in the dark and staring at a bottle of scotch on his table while he waited to see if his would be assassin would show up tonight.

Hoping his plan would work.

Tony had hacked some computers, a little sloppily, on purpose. Letting the people behind the Winter Soldier know that Tony knew of them. He then had Jarvis download some new software for himself from another designer, as he had predicted, a virus was carried over. Jarvis was prepared for this. Tony had built in redundancies to allow Jarvis to combat the virus. It wasn’t exactly the same as the first but it was similar enough that Jarvis had no trouble beating it. Despite the apparent darkness of the house, Jarvis was not completely offline. The AI had shut some of his more noticeable functions down to give the impression that he was incapacitated. Tony hoped this would be enough.

Tony had showed he was a threat to them, and then he had allowed himself to appear vulnerable. Everyone knew Tony was full of himself. He was hoping that the organisation behind the Winter Soldier would assume that it was Tony’s ‘hubris’ that allowed him to make such careless mistakes.

It was three-fifteen in the morning when Tony noticed that he was not alone anymore.

He didn’t even hear him come in but one second to the next, he looked up, and the Winter Soldier was there. Same black tactical gear. Same styled goggles and face mask. He almost looked inhuman.

Tony eyed the assassin for a moment and the assassin watched him in turn. The Winter Soldier was armed, but he wasn’t yet aiming a gun at Tony. Tony figured this was a good sign, at least he had a chance to talk. He’d been afraid he was going to get shot in the head and that was it.

He swallowed his nervousness and spoke in as steady a voice as he could manage. “Jonah’s not here. He’s in a safe location. I was hoping we could talk.” There was a slight tensing of the assassin’s frame which confirmed Tony’s suspicion. Tony wasn’t the only target, Jonah was too. His heart started to beat heavily and he felt cold all over, but he pushed it aside and focused on his task. Hopefully if tonight went well then Jonah would no longer be in danger. Jonah was with Logan, the two of them had hit it off and now Logan was the only person apart from Tony who Jonah allowed to pick him up. He nodded at the bottle on the table, the single glass at its side, “That’s for you. You might need it.”

The Winter Soldier drew his gun and aimed it at Tony.

Tony just looked at the man levelly. Thinking about all he knew about James Buchanan Barnes… and how much it pained him to see the Winter Soldier. “Till the end of the line.” Tony said quietly and watched as the man shook a little, but he still didn’t lower his gun. Tony turned back to the bottle, not wanted to appear too confrontational. “I didn’t get it the other night. Why that sentence made you act strangely… but after…” Tony let out a long breath and leant back in his chair so that he could look back up at the ceiling. “It was something you shared with Steve Rogers. He always told my dad that you were his best friend, ‘till the end of the line’, isn’t that right? James Buchanan Barnes?” Tony sat up again and met the soulless lenses of the goggles the Winter Soldier was wearing. “Or would you rather I call you Bucky?”

The Winter Soldier’s arm was shaking, even though he still had the gun aimed at Tony it was likely he’d miss if he fired now. Tony could probably run if he wanted to. But he didn’t want to.

“Everyone thought you were dead.” Tony continued. “I’m sorry. If I had known I would have kept up the search for you, just as I’m keeping up the search for Steve. It doesn’t fix anything now, but if you want to learn more,” Tony pulled two files from the couch cushions and slid them across the table in front of him. “Everything I’ve been able to collect about James Buchanan Barnes and Steve Rogers.” Tony looked up at the assassin. His eyes grim but determined. His posture relaxed but resolute. “Your move.”


	12. the right thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jarvis hadn’t been shut down like before, and while not exactly prepared for the attack, he was always ready to enact the ‘Little Angel Protocol’ to its full effect. He was going to kill these people for threatening his creator and his brother.

Tony walked slowly down to the workshop, trying to let his heart stop trying to beat its way out of his chest. He also felt slightly sick, but he was pretty sure that was just the stress. His hands were shaking as well but he stopped, took a breath and tightened them into fists. It was alright. It had worked better than he’d hoped. The Winter Soldier hadn’t killed him. Jonah was safe. It was alright. He stood tall, now calmer than before, and headed down to see his son.

He hadn’t lied exactly; Jonah was in a safe place. It was just that the ‘Thunderdome’ was the safest place in the world. With Logan and Happy both down in the workshop too, with all the bots up and running and Jarvis in full control? There was nowhere safer. Jarvis switched on the lights and reactivated himself completely as Tony walked through the workshop door, as he’d been instructed to do. Both Happy and Logan looked up as he entered but Tony only had eyes for one cute little bundle sitting up in his play pen.

Jonah was busy gumming on Teddy, watching Butterfingers as the bot was showing Jonah something on a little screen Tony had installed on the bot one time when he was bored. And probably drunk. It had caused a great deal of jealousy with the other bots, but the screen barely did anything. Well it probably did more now. With a little help from Jarvis.

Butterfingers backed off a bit and Jonah looked around, when he saw that his daddy was coming over he reached up his hands and flapped his wings happily. Tony smiled warmly and bent down and picked up his baby angel. He knew it was early morning but Jonah was always up by about 2am and rarely went to sleep without Tony by his side. Tony just held Jonah close and breathed in deeply, enjoying the soft baby smell that clung to Jonah. As always, Jonah just enjoyed the cuddles. Tony could feel Jonah’s breath on his neck and feel his tiny heartbeat next to his own. Jonah was soft, moving, and alive. So was Tony. He was alive.

He pulled away from Jonah slightly, not letting go but moving him around so he was resting against his side. He turned to the other two in the room and smiled a little sheepishly, feeling his face warm slightly with embarrassment. “Sorry. I just needed that.”

“No problem Sir.” Happy smiled at the two of them. Supportive as always. Tony could always rely on Happy for that.

“What’s going on?” Logan asked in his usual gruff way. He tilted his face up and scrunched his nose slightly and Tony realized that he was scenting the air. There was something almost animalistic in the way Logan did things at times. Tony didn’t mind, it was actually kind of endearing. He was kind of like a giant puppy. With really vicious claws. And a temper.

“I have no idea.” Tony answered honestly. “I went with the plan, I laid everything out on the table and told him where I stand and… he took a swig directly out of the bottle, took the file and left.” As quickly as he’d come. One moment Tony had been sitting upstairs half convinced he was about to be shot, and then he’d been alone. It had happened in the blink of an eye. It was kind of frightening to think about. “I think that it’s a good sign but…”

“Even if you win him over, whoever sent him won’t be.” Logan finished.

Tony nodded. “Exactly. I also found out that… I am not the only target.” He curled closer to Jonah as he spoke. “I don’t know how far this goes but… I’m going to have to keep digging until I find them. And then I’ll stop them.”

“How?” Happy asked, his eyes grim and his posture determined.

Tony shrugged with a dark twist to his smile, almost carefree with a hint of danger, “However I have to. However I can.” Like hell would he let anyone hurt his son. He’d told the reporter, Williams, that he’d change the world for Jonah. Well he’d rip apart the world if it meant keeping Jonah safe. There wasn’t a thing he wouldn’t do for his baby angel. Whoever had started this had no idea of the hell they’d just unleashed on themselves.

Logan walked over and put a hand on Tony’s shoulder. “I told you I’d be here as long as you needed me. I meant it. I’m here, for you and the bub.”

Jonah flapped happily when Logan came closer. Logan couldn’t help but smile a little and he poked at Jonah’s tummy, the baby grabbed his finger and held on tight. He curled closer to his dad though, so Logan didn’t try to pick him up. But he was content to stand near Tony while the little one maintained his death grip on Logan’s finger.

“Don’t you have a job or something? Mister Instructor?” Tony asked curiously. He’d been wondering what on earth Logan would ‘teach’ and he couldn’t quite figure it out.

Logan smirked. “I help train them with their abilities, mostly the young ones without any control.” He grinned toothily, “Think of me as a crash test dummy.”

Tony couldn’t help a little laugh. “I suppose with the healing factor it makes sense.”

“Well, I’m going to go up and get some sleep.” Happy announced before heading up to do just that. It was past three in the morning and he knew he had to be up on time.

Logan watched him go and turned back to the father and son. “The two of you should sleep too.”

“What about you?” Tony asked.

“That’s actually another thing with healing factors, at least with me and another guy I know, sleep is… not something we need as often. I can choose to sleep sometimes but I don’t _need_ to sleep as much as a normal person would.” He shrugged. “No idea if that will be the same for the young ‘un.”

“Huh.” Tony looked down at his wide awake and completely happy bundle of angel. Maybe that’s why he was quite happy to be up at three in the morning? But that could also just be a ‘baby’ thing. There was a lot about Jonah’s mutation that he wouldn’t be able to figure out until Jonah was much older. “Well little man, I could use some extra sleep. You can cuddle with me though, sound fair?” 

Together the three headed up, Tony to get some rest, Jonah to get some cuddles and Logan to watch over the two of them.

The more time Logan spent with the odd little family, the more determined he became to protect it.

***

Three weeks passed without incident. Rhodes had visited a few more times and was now overseas. Pepper was over almost every day but politely declined to hold Jonah, she still played with him just didn’t pick him up. Happy no longer lived with Tony full time but made sure he was ever present whenever the young billionaire had to leave the house. Logan had stayed with Tony and was now Jonah’s unofficial bodyguard. It was relieving to know that no matter what, if Tony was called in to work, or a board meeting, there was someone to care for Jonah. Logan never complained and over the three weeks became quite good at all aspects of infant care and… the older mutant loved it. Tony could tell.

Logan did love it, but he’d never admit it to anyone. He was too afraid it would be taken away. Tony was now like a little brother to him, somehow worming his way into Logan’s heart almost seamlessly. Little Jonah had pretty much crashed his way through Logan’s defences from the first moment they met. He’d stayed with them to protect them but now… he was happy to stay.

It was pretty early in the morning, the sun was only just rising, but Logan heard the tell-tale sound of Jonah grumbling and knew that Tony would be up in a moment. He was already in the kitchen, frying up some bacon and eggs. He watched amusedly as the coffee machine turned on seemingly of its own accord and the living room, dining area and kitchen seemed to come to life. Lights flickering on and the temperature warming comfortably. Logan smiled to himself, he wasn’t the only one who was up early to take care of the boys. He nodded up at Jarvis, knowing the AI could see him from all angles. The artificial man was someone else that Logan had grown fond of, and he really hadn’t been expecting it. At first he’d found the constant, mostly silent presence, unnerving. But Jarvis was smart, had a very dry wit and he was a brilliant conversationalist. The AI also had Tony and Jonah’s best interests at heart and a surprisingly sarcastic streak that never failed to catch Logan by surprise.

“Doesn’t that feel so much better with a clean bum?” Tony told Jonah as they entered the kitchen.

Jonah had his bottom lip stuck stubbornly out and his feathers were all puffed out in agitation. He clearly disagreed. 

Tony sighed. “No. You could have gotten nappy rash which would have been worse that having a morning bum change.” Tony told his son. “Now, for breakfast you can have formula or… formula!”

Jonah still did not look impressed.

Logan huffed a little laugh but continued making breakfast. Jarvis relayed his usual morning information. The weather, latest news. It was all… horribly domestic. It made something bittersweet clench in Logan’s chest. Like a memory… like missing something… something just out of reach. He shook off his morbidly nostalgic feelings and was just about to serve breakfast when he looked up and turned suddenly to look out the windows that faced the ocean. “Get down!” He yelled quickly.

Tony didn’t hesitate, with Jonah in his arms he dove down behind the counter next to Logan who’d ducked down as well. Logan covered the two of them with his own body as a loud explosion rang out through the seaside mansion. Glass flew everywhere as Tony curled around his baby, with Logan above them they were well protected. There was the sound of chopper blades and Tony heard several men land inside the ruined living room. The chopper left and an odd silence rang out. 

“Stay down.” Logan murmured before rising with a snarl, his hands becoming fist and his claws ripping their way from his knuckles with a metallic twang. Logan bared his fangs at the intruders, seven of them. Black tactical gear. Face masks. Goggles. No Winter Soldier.

“How rude.” Jarvis intoned from all around them. “You didn’t knock.” And then all hell broke loose.

Jarvis hadn’t been shut down like before, and while not exactly prepared for the attack, he was always ready to enact the ‘Little Angel Protocol’ to its full effect. He was going to kill these people for threatening his creator and his brother. Logan leapt over the kitchen counter with a roar and his claws ready to slice through flesh. The group seemed prepared for that, in unison they aimed their guns at the enraged mutant. They wouldn’t be able to bring Logan down permanently but they’d be able to disable him long enough to get to Tony and Jonah. 

They did not count on Jarvis’s interference.

The entire house was automated. Jarvis controlled everything.

The TV suffered a sudden power surge and exploded into a shower of sparks that quickly turned to flames. This distracted at least three of the men. The sprinklers started and with the fire being electrical in nature it just made things worse. Two of the men were electrocuted dead before Logan even reached them. Their dying screams distracted enough of them sufficiently that even as three of them opened fire on Logan he was able to shrug it off and keep going. He took down another in seconds, slicing his arm clean off and spearing him through the middle, throwing the body aside like a rag doll. Another chopper flew by and dropped another seven men onto the balcony. Jarvis activated a new bit of tech Tony had developed and sent out a scrambler that made the chopper’s systems go haywire and it careened out of control. It dropped like a stone, over the cliffs and into the ocean, taking three of the new arrivals who’d still been attached to it with wires, down with it. Leaving a total of eight intruders to take care of. Jarvis let the bots out of the workshop to even the odds, armed with heavy tools Dum-E, U and Butterfingers joined the fight.

While World War Three was happening in the living room Tony was hiding behind the kitchen counter. There was a part of him that wanted to help but like the first night he’d met Logan, this wasn’t about him. His job was to protect his son. His mission was to get Jonah to the Thunderdome. Jonah was crying but Tony was too busy to comfort him right now.

Tony looked up as the microwave flashed. The numbers changed to words and spelled out a message from Jarvis, -Way. Is. Clear. – Tony took the AI at his word and made a run for the workshop. He heard shots and something behind him shattered but he kept going. He made it down to the workshop and put Jonah in the Thunderdome. He passed a toy quickly to his son but had no time for anything else as he quickly ran over to his ‘armoury’ and armed himself with a one of the pistols he was currently working on. He hadn’t worked out the overheating factor yet but it would definitely be good for at least three, highly destructive, shots.

Before he had the chance to turn around he heard a ‘click’ behind him. Tony turned quickly, bringing up his gun but it was too late. He heard the shot before he felt it.

He looked at the man in black tactical gear with shock in his eyes. They stared at each other for a moment before the man fell and Tony let out a disbelieving breath. Using his free hand to pat down his body, he hadn’t been shot!

As the now dead man slumped over another man in black tactical gear entered the workshop, but this one wasn’t wearing a mask.

Tony held up his gun defensively but didn’t pull the trigger.

The Winter Soldier nudged his kill with his boot, but the body was unresponsive. He turned to Stark, noting the gun, his eyes took stock of the room and he turned back around, putting his back to Stark and taking up a defensive position at the door. “These ones got past me.” He stated tonelessly.

Tony just gaped for a moment. Bucky was helping him? This was a good thing right? Tony heard another explosion ring out from upstairs. He quickly took a position down next to the Thunderdome, crouching with his gun ready, facing the doorway like the Winter Soldier. He stared at the man, noting that he looked rougher than the last time they’d met. Last time, on that night three weeks ago, his gear had seemed new and well taken care of. Now he was covered in scratches and scuff marks, and if Tony squinted he could make out bullet grazes in Bucky’s armour. There was also dried blood crusted to the side of his stubble covered face, what little Tony could see of it from this angle anyway. He looked like he’d been fighting.

Bucky’s words became clearer in his mind. “What do you mean?” He asked quietly, although he had a sneaking suspicion that he already knew. It had been an oddly peaceful few weeks.

“Tried to stop them. Sent out five teams. These one’s got past me. The ones before did not. They’re sick of losing so they sent more this time.” The Winter Soldier explained. His eyes still trained on the stairs leading out of the workshop. No one would make it past him. He’d made a mistake, letting them get this far. They wouldn’t get further.

“You’ve been protecting us!” Tony whispered, awed. He didn’t even know what to say. Bucky had disappeared that night and then… he’d been fighting against his former organisation for weeks to protect Tony and Jonah. “Why?!” Tony asked, he was shocked and confused. Incredibly grateful but, he didn’t understand. “I mean thank you, thank you so much, but why?”

The Winter Soldier glanced back at Stark and the baby. The baby with blonde hair and blue eyes. The one he’d been willing to die for… he’d had blonde hair like that. He’d had blue eyes like that. Tony had tried to save the Winter Soldier from himself, even at the risk of his own life. The one he’d been willing to die for had been stupidly morally good like that. Willing to die for a cause greater than himself… but all the Winter Soldier had ever been willing to die for was him. Now he was gone. But Tony was here… Jonah was here… and if the one he’d been willing to die for had been here… He would have sacrificed himself to save these two. So the Winter Soldier would too.

The Winter Soldier looked back up the stairway. “It’s what Steve would have done.” His voice was odd, monotonous, toneless. He wasn’t ‘Bucky’ anymore. James Buchanan Barnes had been broken and twisted and put back together _wrong_ so many times that the Winter Soldier wasn’t sure there was any of him left. But he didn’t need ‘Bucky’ to want to do the right thing. He just needed Steve.

Steve wasn’t here.

But he had Tony and Jonah.

And that was enough for the Winter Soldier to want to do the right thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY SORRY SORRY!!!
> 
> I kind of did this thing that I refer to as 'writing myself into a corner' with the last chapter so it took me a bit to write myself back out of the corner. Sorry for that, but I'm working on it again so hooray! Fear not, I will not abandon this fic!
> 
> ALSO - this is just shameless self promotion but I kinda have to do this sorry - I am making a comic called 'Curly Fries' about the life of my little brother here's the link if you're interested -> http://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/curly-fries/list?title_no=96157


	13. Road Trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The assassin looked down at them, Jonah’s mouth was open slightly and he was making little snoring sounds. Tony’s face looked completely relaxed and he looked even younger than he actually was, in sleep he looked like a child himself. He felt something unfamiliar twist in his stomach, something sickening and acidic. He’d almost killed these two… and he hated himself for that.

It ended surprisingly quickly. Between Jarvis, the Winter Soldier, Logan, and the bots - the invaders didn’t stand a chance. Unfortunately, the house didn’t fare as well as its occupants.

Tony, with Jonah in his arms, was standing in the ruins of his living room. Logan was by his side, glaring and occasionally growling at the Winter Soldier who was leaning against a wall on the opposite side of the room. Tony wasn’t even sure the mutant was aware that he was growling intermittently. The bots were trying to clean but also trying not to touch the bodies, so most of their ‘cleaning’ was just pushing broken glass around the cleaner parts of the floor. Jarvis was silent, he was expanding his internet presence, his ‘Little Angel Protocol’ demanding that he find and eliminate the threat.

Tony was just looking around the living room and bouncing his baby. He’d much rather this destruction over losing his baby angel. Jonah was just happy with his daddy cuddles, as always. Tony sniffed the air, “What’s that burning smell?”

There was a popping noise and they all turned to see the kitchen stove burst into flames.

The sprinklers in the kitchen kicked in automatically.

“You forgot to turn off the stove.” Tony said absently. “Well there goes breakfast.” His stomach chose that moment to let out a loud groan in protest. Evidently the death and destruction had done very little to stop his appetite. He wondered if he should feel bad about that? But with his son still alive and breathing in his arms Tony found that he couldn’t bring himself to care about the mess he was standing in, or the bodies littering his floor.

They were silent for a little while longer, still processing what had happened. The other two men in the room looked fine but Tony felt like he just needed a minute.

“Sir.” Jarvis intoned.

“Yeah J?” Tony asked, taking a breath and focusing himself.

“I cannot find the group who attacked you. However, as they know your current address, perhaps moving house would be in order?” Normally Jarvis wouldn’t suggest anything so impertinent. Tony was the one who made all the big decisions but Jarvis was uncharacteristically worried, in as much as he could be worried. His protocol was demanding that he keep Jonah safe, but the attackers knew where they lived. It wasn’t safe here.

Tony looked around at the ruined living room. “Good idea. Prepare everything, call my private security team to deal with this. Have Happy take charge.”

“The Manor Sir?”

“Yup.” Tony sighed, “The manor.” He didn’t really like the old Stark mansion, but it had lots of space and better security than the Malibu mansion. It was also very private. Jonah would be able to go outside freely on the grounds without having to worry about anyone seeing him. Tony didn’t like the idea of hiding Jonah, but for now he knew that it was for the best. They already had a group hunting them, he really didn’t need a bunch of anti-mutant activists after him as well.

He turned to the two men, both of which were watching him. “Logan, are you coming with us?”

Logan glanced over at the Winter Soldier and then back at Tony, he gave the young billionaire a sharp nod. He wouldn’t leave Tony and Jonah alone, not now. He knew that he had responsibilities back at the school, but his was bigger than just him. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself he turned his back on the young family now.

“Alright, there’s plenty of rooms at the Manor, can we take your truck? My cars are a little… distinctive.”

Logan snorted. “That’s one word for it.” He enjoyed Tony’s car collection but he was more of an old fashioned American muscle man himself. “I’ll drive.”

The Winter Soldier shrugged himself off of the wall and turned away from them, apparently deciding it was time for him to leave.

“Hey!” Tony called out to stop him, the assassin stopped and turned slightly. Not enough to face Tony but enough to indicate he was listening. “You don’t have to go. There’s a room at the Manor for you too, if you want it.” As Tony spoke he wondered the wisdom of inviting an incredibly dangerous man to stay with them, but then the Winter Soldier turned completely and Tony saw James Buchanan Barnes. A man who had been through so much... He’d lived through horrible things and committed unforgivable acts and yet… He’d saved Tony and Jonah.

“They’ll find me.” The Winter Soldier answered after a moment.

Tony shrugged, “They’ll find you anyway.” It was almost a complete certainty if the group that was after them had the resources to hide from Jarvis. “Wouldn’t you rather it be on your terms?”

Jarvis watched silently, cataloguing every move the Winter Soldier made. It was only with Tony’s express instruction against such actions, that Jarvis did not eliminate the Winter Soldier. He had not forgotten the first night the Winter Soldier had broken in. He had been disabled and his Priority Users had almost been erased. He had not forgiven and chose to remain vigilant, observing silently for now but ready to interfere should he have to.

Tony pulled out his phone, “You can figure that out while I book us all into a hotel.”

Logan raised an eyebrow, “We’re staying at a hotel?”

“Nope.” Tony replied quickly, “But I’d like them to think we are. I’ll also order a clean-up crew to fix the house, I’ll pay extra for a rush job to make it look like we’ll be coming back here.” They thought he was full of himself, no harm in letting them keep thinking that.

The Soldier watched them silently, his expression unreadable as both Tony and Logan prepared everything they’d need for the impromptu move. Jarvis arranged everything they couldn’t organize themselves. Tony’s little plan was smart; it would buy them all a few days. Even him, even if he wasn’t going to go with them. But only a few days. His handlers were smart. It wouldn’t be long before they found the Stark’s again. Without meaning to the Soldier met the eyes of little Jonah, who was still in his father’s arms. Tony was busy talking with Logan and Jarvis, but Jonah was staring right at him. The babe’s eyes were so blue. The only person the Soldier could remember having such blue eyes had been Steve. His eyes were blue too but Stevie’s… and Jonah’s… looked like the sky. If compassion had a colour it would be that blue.

They’d find the Stark’s again. The Soldier watched the baby watching him and glanced up at his father. So young, but so determined. Willing to die for a cause. Were brats like Steve common these days? It was that thought that made the decision for him. Because he knew that, no, brats like Steve were not common in any age. These two were something special. 

“I’ll go with you.”

Tony turned back to the assassin, he knew that Logan would be too. He smiled, “Good. We should get going.”

They all piled into Logan’s truck, Tony wearing a cap and glasses to try and hide his identity. It was a cool enough that he could wrap a blanket around Jonah’s wings. It wouldn’t fool anyone at more than a rudimentary glance, but being sandwiched between to incredibly buff men helped anyway. Logan’s truck was a single cab so they all had to squeeze in together. Tony knew it wasn’t safe for Jonah without a car seat but he comforted himself with the fact that his baby angel had a healing factor and that Logan would never do anything to put Jonah in danger. Besides this whole plan was designed to keep Jonah as safe as possible.

They had as much of Jonah’s baby things piled into the back of the truck as possible, as well as a few of Tony’s things and Logan’s overnight bag. The Soldier didn’t have anything but his weapons but Tony managed to find some loose clothes which made him look less like an assassin and more like a homeless person. The bots would have to wait; Jarvis would prepare them to be shipped over as soon as he could do it safely. They had said goodbye with mournful beeps and whirrs.

Jarvis had informed them that they were happy to remain behind, if any of those who wanted to harm Jonah returned the bots would be ready and waiting. Tony was so proud of his boys.

It was a long drive, but Jonah enjoyed the drive much more than the one from the orphanage to home. He was bright and cheerful almost the whole way, looking out the window and bothering Logan as much as he could with his tiny arms. Tony was glad that he didn’t seem to mind the blanket over his wings.

It was a fair few hours into the drive and Tony and Jonah had fallen asleep. Logan looked over and couldn’t help but smirk at the discomfited look on the Winter Soldier’s face. When Tony had fallen asleep he had tilted over and now his face was smushed into the legendary assassin’s arm. He looked as though he were drooling, if the growing dark patch on the loose fitting grey jumper the Soldier was wearing was any indication. The assassin in question was sitting ramrod straight with his muscles wound so tight Logan idly wondered if he was going to sprain something.

“What are you doing?” Logan asked quietly, he didn’t want to wake the sleeping pair, the father and son needed their rest. Jonah was resting safely in his father’s arms, even in his sleep Tony maintained a protective grip over his son. Still, he needed to have a few words with the man who had ‘killed’ him the first night they’d met.

The assassin glanced over at him but said nothing. Logan didn’t know if that was an actual dismissal or if the poor man was just too uncomfortable with the position he’d found himself in. 

Logan turned back to the road, keeping a steady but sedate pace. No point drawing any attention to themselves by driving recklessly.

“Asked you a question bub.” Logan tried again, his hands flexing around the steering wheel. Tightening enough for a glint of silver to shine through his knuckles.

The Soldier’s eyes honed in on Logan’s hands and then to Logan’s face. His stare was as intense as his expression was blank. It was a jarring juxtaposition that made Logan’s instincts flare up in agitation. He snarled softly, having learned long ago that he had to acknowledge his instincts because ignoring them entirely just made things worse.

Jonah mumbled in his sleep, curling instinctively into his daddy’s arms. Tony mumbled back, his arms tightening and pulling Jonah a little closer before they both drifted back into sleep, Tony having changed his position so that he was resting more comfortably against the Soldier.

The tension in the car melted away to nothing and the assassin even relaxed a little, not much, but enough that he no longer looked in danger of rupturing one his muscles.

“Those two are too fucking adorable.” Logan grinned as he turned back to the road.

The assassin looked down at them, Jonah’s mouth was open slightly and he was making little snoring sounds. Tony’s face looked completely relaxed and he looked even younger than he actually was, in sleep he looked like a child himself. He felt something unfamiliar twist in his stomach, something sickening and acidic. He’d almost killed these two… and he hated himself for that. He’d tried to kill Tony and his son and Tony could have killed him. Tony could have destroyed him but… Tony had reached out instead. The Soldier had tried to destroy Tony and Jonah, and Tony had turned around and saved him instead.

The Soldier wanted to help them, he didn’t want them to die. He had far too much blood on his hands already. But even then, as much as he wanted to help them… he knew that he couldn’t be trusted. Not entirely. “Wake. Sky. Steel. Willow Tree. Erase.” He said quietly knowing that the mutant would hear him, naturally cautious of revealing the words to anyone.

“Wake, what?” Logan shot the man a look, wondering of the sanity of the assassin sitting across from him.

“Wake. Sky. Steel. Willow Tree. Erase.” The Soldier repeated. “In Russian. There are words that activate the Asset, but I can’t speak them.” He knew them but he couldn’t say them, another part of his programming. They didn’t know he knew these words though, so they hadn’t prevented him from speaking them. There weren’t many who actually knew this set of words.

“So what do these words do?” Logan asked, watching the road while trying to memorise the six words. He’d have to look up the translations later. Why couldn’t they be in Japanese?

“Terminate the Asset.” They were kill codes, a safety feature installed in his mind to prevent him from turning against his captors. A little insurance in case his constant reactivation broke his mind beyond repair.

Logan looked at the assassin but the man was now looking back out at the road as stoically as ever. He didn’t know what to make of the man, or the words, but he’d learn them. And if it came to it he’d use them. Whether or not they worked was another matter, but the assassin didn’t smell like a man who was lying. He smelled like a man… full of regret. And with far too much blood on his hands.

They continued to drive on in silence.

They didn’t realise that in Tony’s pocket was a very smart phone, with Just A Rather Very Intelligent System listening to every word. 

Tony stirred as they pulled into a truck stop. His stomach growled and Jonah was kicking around and making snuffling noises. Tony yawned and smiled down at his baby boy. “Hey you, did you sleep well?” He mumbled as he pushed himself up off of the arm he’d been sleeping on. Tony looked over to see a rather disgruntled assassin looking at him and he chuckled. “Sorry.”

The Soldier turned back to face out the window. He was unused to casual touch like this. The only physical contact he’d had with anyone for years had been fighting and the torment his handlers had put him through. Tony’s carefree disregard for personal space baffled him and it surprised the Soldier that his first reaction wasn’t to harm Tony. He didn’t like it exactly, but it was tolerable.

“Hungry little man?” Tony asked.

Jonah was getting fussy, not quite crying but letting out little grunts and scrunching up his face ins displeasure. It wouldn’t be long at this rate.

“I’ll get out and grab what you need.” Logan said, getting out of the car, “You stay with them.” He directed at the assassin.

The Soldier didn’t respond.

Tony looked between the two before waving Logan off. “It’s alright, Logan’s gonna go get you something yummy.” Tony told Jonah, bouncing him in his arms. His back felt stiff and his legs were asleep. His ass ached and he just wanted to get out and walk some feeling back into his lower half… but he knew it was safer if he stayed in the car. Tony shuffled around, pulling up a bag from the floor at the assassin’s feet. “Do you mind?” He asked.

The other man shook his head once and Tony put the nappy bag on his lap.

“Sorry, not a lot of room in here.” He lay Jonah down on Logan’s seat and with some shuffling and awkwardness he managed to get the baby changed and clean before wrapping him back up in his blanket. It was getting colder now and the daylight had all but faded.

Jonah started to cry a little but calmed when Tony held him up to look out the window.

Tony looked down at the dirty nappy on the seat. He couldn’t get out of the car with Jonah but he felt strange about asking the assassin sitting next to him to throw it out. Maybe he could get Logan to do it when he came back?

The Soldier glanced down, sensing Tony’s nervousness. He looked over at the discarded nappy on the seat next to Tony and then over at the nearest garbage bin. It wasn’t too far away, and the lid was open. The Soldier reached over and took the dirty package before leaning slightly out of his window and taking aim. He threw the nappy and it went sailing through the air, landing directly into the bin. The Soldier sat back in his seat but looked over when he felt that he was being stared at.

Tony was looking up at the assassin, impressed. “That was pretty awesome.” He complimented his broody companion. “Glad to have you with us, thank you.” He smiled, he wanted Bucky, or whoever he was now, to feel welcome with them. Because he was. Bucky was proof that Steve could still be alive somewhere, and if Steve had gone through anything like Bucky had then Tony would help him too. Tony was actually really happy that he’d met Bucky, if the Winter Soldier hadn’t tried to kill them, then Tony would never have had the chance to help Bucky. It wasn’t going to be easy, and there’d probably be a lot of mistakes along the way, but he now had the chance to help one of his childhood heroes. He was going to take it, because this was the sort of person he wanted to be. This was the sort of person he wanted his son to be raised by: A man who would do what he could to help those around him, a man that cared about more than money and prestige. Tony would never be a ‘Howard’ to his son. He’d be better than that.

The Soldier felt something warm in his chest at the praise. He frowned, puzzled for a moment, before his expression cleared back to his usual blank mask. He gave Tony a nod and looked back out the window. Well trained eyes taking in every detail. Noting every person and every action they made and filing it away in his mind.

Tony turned his attention back to Jonah now that the assassin wasn’t paying any attention to him, making funny faces to keep his boy entertained until Logan came back with a fresh bottle.

Logan filled up quickly then headed inside. The people who ran the stop were happy enough to let him use their kitchen to make Jonah’s bottle. He’d made a few of them over the last couple of weeks so he knew what he was doing. He then grabbed some sandwiches, drinks and snacks for the other two and silently thanked the young Mr Stark for his credit card when it came time to pay for it all. Tony had insisted on paying for everything on the trip and well… everything else. Logan had tried to pay his own way at the beginning but had quickly found out that Jarvis had hacked his accounts and put all the money he spent back into them. Tony had claimed to have no knowledge of such an obvious breech of Logan’s legal rights. Logan chuckled as he headed back out to the car, that Stark was a character. He was dangerously fond of the two of them.

He got into the car and Jonah recognised the bottle and immediately made grabby hands for it.

“Thanks!” Tony took the bottle gratefully and settled in to feed his son.

Logan passed the other food over to the assassin and started the car, resuming the drive. It would be a long time until they reached their destination but for now they were safe, and Logan intended to keep them that way. He glanced over to see Jonah happily guzzling down his bottle without regard for the wind he’d pass up later and Tony trying to slow him down but not really having any luck with it.

“Still good to drive Scooby Doo? I can take over if you’d like.”

Logan opened and closed his mouth. “What did you just call me?”

“Hm?” Tony looked up as he hitched Jonah up to burp him. “Scooby Doo. You know the dog?”

“Okay… but why are you calling me ‘Scooby Doo’?”

“Because you’re always sniffing people and listening to things. I bet if I had a dog whistle you’d be able to hear it.” Tony shrugged, “You also eat more than anyone I’ve ever seen so… Scooby Doo.”

Logan had noticed, that the people closest to Tony had nicknames. He’d never really thought he’d be one of those people. He smiled but kept his eyes on the road. “Sure Stark, but one of those sandwiches is for you.” What an odd little family he’d somehow found himself a part of.

“Yes!” Tony exclaimed happily taking a sandwhich from the pile on Bucky’s lap. “You two should both eat too.”

Jonah settled down next to Tony while his father devoured a sandwich with one hand. Logan had taken a sandwich for himself but that still left quite a few snacks and sandwiches left over. Tony looked at the food in the assassin’s lap. “You gonna eat that?” He asked pointing at another sandwich and let out a happy little noise when the other man handed it over.

Jonah fussed a little but Tony pulled Teddy out from the nappy bag and Jonah cheered up instantly, resuming the single minded mission of chewing off one of Teddy’s ears.


End file.
